By Mychael Schnell*
One hundred U.S. soldiers have arrived in Romania to bolster NATO allies in Eastern Europe amid heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Romania’s defense minister, Vasile Dancu, told reporters on Tuesday that the troops will oversee logistics.
“The Americans have arrived,” Dancu said, according to Reuters. “Over 100 specialist U.S. soldiers together with our logistics specialists are preparing, which means it will not be long before the rest of the troops arrive.”
Roughly 900 U.S. soldiers are currently in Romania, according to Reuters.
The Pentagon announced last week that it was deploying and repositioning more than 3,000 troops to bolster allies and strengthen NATO’s capabilities amid the tensions in the region.
Troops being repositioned to Romania are coming from Germany. They are part of an Infantry Stryker squadron that is intended to deploy in short order.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby also announced on Monday that a “couple hundred” U.S. troops had arrived in Poland. More U.S. troops are expected to enter the country in the coming days.
