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U.S. Special Operations forces could be deployed to Kyiv, Ukraine, to guard the newly-reopened American embassy there in the event the Pentagon is asked to provide protection, sources have revealed to Fox News on Monday.
Conversations about the possible deployment of U.S. troops, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal, come after Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced last Wednesday that the U.S. is “officially resuming operations” at its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, which was evacuated prior to the start of Russia’s military invasion.
“We are in close touch with our colleagues at the State Department about potential security requirements now that they have resumed operations at the embassy in Kyiv,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told Fox News in a statement.
Employees of the U.S. embassy in Ukraine raise the American flag on Wednesday, May 18.
“But no decisions have been made, and no specific proposals have been debated at senior levels of the department about the return of U.S. military members to Ukraine for that or any other purpose,” he added.
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Two senior Pentagon sources tell Fox News that the Pentagon is discussing a range of options in the event it is asked to protect the embassy, and that includes sending in Special Operations Forces.
The United States Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 25. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
(John Moore/Getty Images)
Ultimately, the U.S. would like to get back to training Ukrainian forces inside Ukraine like they did before the war broke out, the sources added.
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A woman walks past the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, Jan. 24.
(AP/Efrem Lukatsky)
But they also said that option has not been briefed to President Biden and has no timeline.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, is now in its 89th day.
