White House sends Kamala Harris to Europe to 'reassure' allies in Ukraine's standoff with Putin as Pentagon draws up early plan to evacuate Americans from Kiev to avoid another 'messy withdrawal' and Kabul catastrophe
The White House on Wednesday announced that Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Europe next week as part of an effort to deter Russian aggression against Ukraine.
She will meet allies and partners at the Munich Security Conference.
'This trip is about engaging our allies and partners and building upon the intensive engagement that is already under way,' an official said.
At the same time it emerged that the White House has reportedly signed off on a Pentagon plan to use U.S. troops in Poland to help evacuate American citizens from Ukraine if Russia invaded.
The Pentagon has said that around 1,700 service members, mainly from the 82nd Airborne Division, are deploying from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Poland.
Officials told the Wall Street Journal they will set up checkpoints, tent camps and other temporary facilities close to the border with Ukraine in preparation to receive fleeing Americans, in an effort to prevent the chaotic scenes that emerged from Afghanistan last year.
Their mission would be to help coordinate an evacuation of some of the estimated 30,000 Americans in Ukraine in the event of an invasion, but would not involve flying them out of the country.
Guiding the planning, they said, was the memory of the Kabul airlift.
'Everyone who lived the evacuation from Afghanistan felt it was remarkable but also chaotic,' one defense official said.
'That was a messy, messy withdrawal. We don’t want a chaotic withdrawal from Ukraine.'
Ukraine has been on a knife edge ever since Russia moved tens of thousands of troops close to its border at the end of last year.
Soldiers of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry Regiment prepare to deployment to Romania from the U.S. Airbase, in Vilseck, Germany, on Wednesday. Troops in Poland are reportedly preparing for the arrival of evacuees from Ukraine as part of an effort to avoid a repeat of the chaos in Kabul
Chaotic scenes at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul last year have cast a long shadow over the Biden administration's foreign policy
The withdrawal from Afghanistan sent Biden's approval numbers into freefall last year and they have never recovered. Officials say the episode informed their planning in Ukraine
The White House announced on Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to the Munich Security Conference where she will meet with 'allies and partners'
The number increased to 120,000 even as Moscow insisted it was not planning to invade.
In the last 24 hours, Russia added about 2,000 combat forces to the border areas near Ukraine, reported CNN's Barbara Starr, citing an administration official.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was traveling to Poland on Wednesday while his foreign secretary was heading to Moscow in the latest diplomatic push to avert conflict.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has begun moving the 2nd Cavalry Regiment from Vilseck, Germany, to Romania, which borders Ukraine.
Biden administration officials have taken pains to shrug off comparisons with Afghanistan, pointing out that the evacuation came at the end of a 20-year conflict. In Ukraine, they said, they were instead looking to avert conflict and urged Americans to follow advice to leave the country.
'These are multi-mission forces, trained and equipped for a variety of missions to deter aggression and to provide reassurance to NATO Allies,' a White House official told DailyMail.com
'We are constantly evaluating the evolving security situation and planning for a range of contingencies as we always do, but to be clear we are not planning for a mass evacuation of American citizens from Ukraine.'
The Kabul evacuation has cast a long shadow over the Biden administration.
After Biden promised that the military withdrawal would not be accompanied by images of helicopters rescuing diplomats from its embassy, that is precisely what happened.
Worse followed as thousands of people flocked to Kabul airport looking for passage to safety after the Taliban seized the capital in August last year.
The US and NATO countries have deployed troops into Eastern Europe in preparation for conflict along the Russian-Ukraine border
The first of 2,000 U.S. troops to arrive in Poland following the Pentagon's announcement of additional forces moving from the United States to Europe in support of NATO allies
But officials point out that Ukraine's government and armed forces are unlikely to collapse in the same way. Instead, a more likely scenario is that Russia could seize parts of the country.
However, some of the same figures involved in the Kabul evacuation have leading role in Europe this time around.
Army Maj. Gen. C.D. Donahue, who was the last American to step onto a military jet and leave Afghanistan after overseeing the evacuation, is now leading troops in Poland, as commander of the 82nd Airborne Division that arrived over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported.
And officials said Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, who was the head of Air Mobility Command in August and led U.S. evacuation planning for Kabul, now is in charge of U.S. Transportation Command which coordinates transportation around the world.
Meanwhile, Russia kept up its chorus of accusations that the West is stoking tensions.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said military supplies to Ukraine amounted to Western 'blackmail and pressure.'
'Everything happening in terms of pumping Ukraine with equipment, ammunition, military hardware including lethal weapons is an attempt to put additional political pressure on us, as well as probably military technical pressure,' Ryabkov was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency.
Russia is planning to begin military drills with Belarus on Thursday, in a further potential escalation.
Details of the evacuation planning emerged after an ex-White House staffer and Ukraine policy expert criticized Biden for doing 'too little, too late' to deter a Russian invasion.
Alexander Vindman, a retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel who oversaw the Trump administration's Ukraine policy, slammed Biden's administration for its failure to act in time, warning that a Russian invasion would be catastrophic for the U.S. and its European allies.
Alexander Vindman, a retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel who oversaw the Trump administration's Ukraine policy, said the Biden administration failed to act in time to stop the escalation of conflict between the Ukraine and Russia
President Joe Biden (left), during his press conference with Chancellor Scholz, confirmed there will be no Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades the Ukraine although he did not detail how that would be accomplished
U.S. intelligence officials estimate that Russia has 70 per cent of the military forces it needs to invade the Ukraine ready along the border. Russian deployment troops are pictured in the neighboring country of Belarus on February 4
'The senior policymakers didn't seem to come around to this threat until really quite late,' Vindman told Yahoo News' Skullduggery podcast. 'You only start seeing [them] take things seriously in the November and December [2021] time frame.'
He added that the U.S. should have been helping to arm the Ukrainians with 'a lot more advance military capability' to fend off a Russian invasion.
Vindman's criticism came after Biden confirmed on Monday that there would be no Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades the Ukraine in an attempt to deter conflict in eastern Europe.
Vindman, who garnered backlash for whistleblowing on Trump's phone calls with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and Democrats in 2019, now feared Russia would soon begin cyberattacks against Ukraine that would escalate to military action spilling into the rest of Europe and America.
'You could envision it as a legitimate scenario — this is not a far-fetched hypothetical — in which Russia conducts a major cyber offensive against Ukraine in preparation for its conventional war,' Vindman told Skullduggery.
'It seeks to attack and disrupt Ukrainian critical infrastructure communications, power grids, all the kinds of utilities, but those things are not limited,' he warned.
'They are absolutely going to spill over, as they have in the past, to Europe and to the U.S. Then the U.S. is forced to respond. That's an escalation.'
Vindman added that an all-out-war in the Ukraine would have detrimental impacts across Europe and in the U.S.
'It has the real probability of really destabilizing Europe because thousands and thousands of refugees are going to be flowing into Europe,' he said.
'It has the real probability of potentially expanding with greater Russian aspirations, casting eyes on the Baltics or something of that nature. And all these things are really detrimental to U.S. interests.'
Vindman said he fears Russia would soon begin cyberattacks against Ukraine that would escalate to military action spilling into the rest of Europe and America.
U.S. troops arrived at the Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport on Sunday. The U.S. has also delivered several tons of weapons to their Ukrainian allies in Januray
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline stretches 764 miles from Russia across the Baltic states and into Germany. It bypasses the Ukraine, hurting the nation's economy
Biden made his remarks on calling off the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Germany would be one of the biggest benefiters of the pipeline. The country relies on 50 percent of its natural gas supply from Russia.
'If Russia invades - that means tanks and troops crossing the border of Ukraine again - then there will no longer be Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it,' Biden said.
But when pressed as to how that would happen - the pipeline stretches 764 miles from Russia across the Baltic states and into Germany - Biden declined to give details.
'I promise you we'll be able to do it,' the president said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has assembled 70 per cent of the military personnel and weapons on Ukraine's borders he would need for a full-scale invasion of the country, based on U.S. intelligence estimates.
Meanwhile, the first of 3,000 American troops to deploy to Eastern Europe arrived in Poland and another 86 tons of U.S. weapons arrived in Ukraine.
Biden advised any American civilians in the Ukraine to exit the country.
'I think it would be wise to leave the country. I'm not talk about our diplomatic core. I'm talking about Americans who are there. I hate to see them get caught in the cross fire. There's no need for that. If I were they and there I'd say leave,' the president said.
The United States has said it doesn't have an exact number of Americans in the Ukraine - noting it doesn't require people to register with the Embassy in Kiev - but it has offered assistance in helping people get out.
Biden advised any American civilians in the Ukraine to exit the country as U.S. were troops mobilized in the area as officials fear an invasion by Russia
Meanwhile, Scholz's visit comes as both Democrats and Republicans - along with American allies in Western Europe - have accused Germany of being 'missing in action' on Ukraine and expressed frustration Berlin hasn't done more to help its fellow NATO members in Eastern Europe as Russia builds up its military force on the Ukraine border.
Concerns have been raised about his government's refusal to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, to increase Germany's troop presence in Eastern Europe or to clarify which sanctions it would support should Russia act.
His decision to send 5,000 helmets for Ukrainian troops to Kiev drew much mockery.
But Biden defended Germany on Monday, saying there was 'no need to win back trust.'
'There's no need to win back trust. He has the complete trust of the United States. Germany is one of our most important allies in the world. There's no doubt about Germany's partnership with the United States. None,' the president said.
'With regard to helping Ukraine, one of the largest contributors financially to Ukraine has been Germany. Germany has been in the forefront of making sure of providing economic assistance,' he said. 'Germany is completely reliable. Totally reliable. Have no doubt about Germany at all.'
Scholz repeated his message of unity.
'We are united. The trans Atlantic partnership between Germany and the U.S. is one of the permanent pillars of German policy and will be relevant in the future as well, just as relevant. This will be one of our top priorities always,' he said.
Additionally Biden used the press conference to issue a warning to Putin - saying it would be a 'gigantic mistake' to invade the Ukraine.
'I don't know that he knows what he's going to do. I think he has to realize it would be a gigantic mistake to make a move on Ukraine ,' Biden said, adding of Putin: 'He would pay a heavy price.'
Biden also said the United States was 'ready to continue talks in good faith with Russia.'
US Army soldiers and military vehicles exit a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft at Jasionka Rzeszow Airport in Rzeszow, Poland
US Army General Christopher Donahue (L) and Polish Army General Wojciech Marchwica at Jasionka Rzeszow Airport in Rzeszow, Poland
Service members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces drive a military vehicle during tactical drills at a training ground in the Kherson region, Ukraine
Ukrainian tanks drive during tactical drills as tensions rise
Scholz, in a nod to the criticism he's received at home and abroad for a lack of leadership on the Ukraine issue, told a German television station that he was open to deploying more troops to Lithuania to bolster NATO's eastern flank.
'We are intensively engaged with all our allied partners in the European Union, with the question of Ukraine, hardly any question occupies us more,' Scholz told ARD television station.
'It's about preventing a war in Europe,' he said, adding that his first meeting as chancellor with Biden would involve 'hard, real political work.'
The two men have met before - in Rome in October during the G20 summit while Scholz was still serving as finance minister.
Scholz was also due to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Berlin on Tuesday and then visit Russia and Ukraine next week. Macron will be in Russia on Monday as Biden and Scholz meet at the White House.
Biden on Sunday seemed to suggest Putin will not go with the diplomatic route as Moscow continues to demand concessions that U.S. and NATO will not make.
When asked what factors Putin is considering when making his decision whether to invade Ukraine or deescalate tensions in the region, Biden responded: 'I think things he cannot get.'
This likely references the demands the Kremlin has put forth, including that the NATO ban Ukraine and other former Soviet bloc countries from entering the military alliance.
As tensions rise in Easter Europe, the German-American relationship could become the pivotal U.S. partnership in the West as Macron is in a tough re-election campaign and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is struggling to hold onto his goverment amid a scandal over parties held during COVID lockdown.
In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal for eastern Ukraine in a bid to end the conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists that erupted the previous year following the Russian annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
The agreement signed in the Belarusian capital of Minsk helped stop large-scale fighting, but efforts at a political settlement have stalled and frequent skirmishes have continued along the tense line of contact in Ukraine's industrial heartland known as the Donbas.
A summit of French, German, Russian and Ukrainian leaders has been suggested. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has expressed interest but Putin has not.
Scholz took over two months ago from Angela Merkel, the longtime German leader who had worked with four U.S. presidents. Biden and Merkel enjoyed a strong relationship.
Another 1,000 troops already in Germany will be repositioned to Romania, which borders the Black Sea where one of Russia's biggest fleets is positioned.
'I'm not going to speculate,' Biden said Sunday when he was asked if he would consider sending more U.S. troops to NATO countries if Putin doesn't deescalate.
Civilians participate in a Territorial Defence unit training session in Obukhiv, Ukraine
French soldiers take part in a major drill as part of the EFP NATO operation at the Tapa Estonian army camp near Rakvere; the 'Winter Camp' exercise in northeast Estonia, just 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Russian border, included some 1,300 British, Estonian and French troops operating in extreme conditions
An elite group of U.S. paratrooper disembark from a C-17 at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in Poland on Sunday, February 6, 2022
U.S. soldiers are seen next to their vehicles outside the G2A Arena after arriving at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in Jasionka, Poland, on Sunday
Another 86 tons of U.S. weapons arrived in Ukraine in response to more than 100,000 Russian troops amassed along the country's border
And the latest shipment of weapons from the U.S. arrived in Ukraine at the weekend, with the 86 tons worth of ammunition delivered.
It is the eighth part of a $200 million shipment of American military aid that is being sent to help its ally.
Ukraine's defense minister Oleksii Reznikov tweeted: 'The 8th bird has arrived in Kyiv. The weight of today's cargo with ammunition for our Ukrainian armed forces is 86 tons. Since January 22, our partners from the US have sent more than 650 tons of defense ammunition to Ukraine. To be continued.'
And National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned Sunday that 'we are in the window' where Russia could invade 'any day now'.
'We're in the window where something could happen that is a military escalation and invasion of Ukraine can happen at any time,' Sullivan said on NBC's Meet the Press.
'We believe that the Russians have put in place the capabilities to mount a significant military operation into Ukraine and we have been working hard to prepare a response,' he continued.
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