US troops in Poland setting up processing centers for Ukraine evacuees

Some of the U.S. troops in Poland have reportedly been working with Polish forces to set up processing centers to help potential Ukrainian evacuees should Russia launch a large invasion. 

U.S. military officials told The New York Times that many of the 4,700 troops sent to Poland have been setting up tents and preparing Polish military facilities for evacuees. The outlet reported that few people have sought to use the facilities so far.

The report comes as the threat of further aggression against Ukraine has grown more urgent in the past 24 hours.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of two separatists regions in Ukraine and ordered troops to carry out “peacekeeping missions” in those areas.

President Biden and his officials called these moves the beginning of an invasion, and on Tuesday, the president announced a new round of sanctions on two of Russia’s financial institutions and its sovereign debt.

The 4,700 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Fort Bragg, N.C., were announced earlier this month to reassure NATO allies as Russia amassed up to 190,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders.

In a press conference from Warsaw on Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin alluded to the possibility that these troops would help American citizens leave Ukraine.

“We appreciate Poland for hosting an additional 4,700 U.S. soldiers who are prepared to respond to a range of [contingencies], and they will work closely with our State Department and with Polish authorities, should there be any need to help American citizens leave Ukraine,” Austin said at the time. 

In addition to the 4,700 troops sent to Poland, the U.S. has deployed 300 troops from the 18th Airborne Corps to Germany and repositioned 1,000 troops stationed in Germany to Romania.

Biden announced on Tuesday that he has authorized the deployment of additional U.S. troops and equipment to strengthen the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in response to Russia saying that it would not withdraw forces from Belarus after military drills.  

Meanwhile, more than 8,500 U.S. troops have been placed on heightened alert to deploy, the vast majority of which would help NATO if it activated its response force — a multinational coalition of troops that could deploy on short notice.

The Hill has reached out to U.S. European Command for comment.