US deploys 3,000 troops in Ukraine standoff

The United States on Wednesday deployed several thousand troops to bolster NATO forces in eastern Europe, as the leaders of France and Germany flagged trips to Moscow to address Western fears of an invasion of Ukraine.

With Russia refusing to pull back 100,000 troops poised on Ukraine's borders, 1,000 US soldiers in Germany are being sent to Romania, and another 2,000 stationed in the United States are being flown to Germany and Poland.

"As long as (President Vladimir Putin) is acting aggressively, we are going to make sure we reassure our NATO allies in eastern Europe that we're there," President Joe Biden said after the deployments were announced.

In response, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said the move would make it harder for a compromise between the two sides, calling the US deployments "destructive steps, which increase military tension and reduce scope for political decision."

Western powers have been engaged in intense diplomatic efforts -- coupled with the threat of sanctions against Putin's inner circle -- to deter what they fear to be a looming invasion of ex-Soviet Ukraine, despite strenuous denials from Moscow.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Wednesday he would soon travel to Moscow to discuss the crisis, while France's President Emmanuel Macron said a similar trip may be in the cards -- depending on upcoming talks with other world leaders.

Biden and Macron pledged to coordinate their response to the crisis in a phone call on Wednesday, while the French leader's office said he would be talking to Putin again on Thursday evening.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed that the US troop movements were to demonstrate commitment to the NATO alliance, and that...