State Department: US does not intend to send troops to Ukraine

The United States still has no plans to send troops to Ukraine, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. During briefing he was asked whether the United States would support the hypothetical deployment of troops in Ukraine by other NATO countries, which had previously been allowed by the former secretary general of the alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

“The President has made it clear that the US military will not be on the territory of Ukraine,” he replied.

On June 7, The Guardian newspaper quoted Rasmussen as suggesting that Poland and the Baltic states could deploy troops in Ukraine. Such a scenario, according to the former NATO Secretary General, could happen if Kyiv does not receive from the alliance “a clear path for moving Ukraine forward” at the NATO summit in Vilnius.

As Miller said today, the summit will demonstrate “substantial” support for Ukraine, including from the United States.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, after Rasmussen’s statement, said that Kyiv does not expect foreign troops to enter the country until the end of the conflict. He stressed that the Ukrainian authorities are not asking for this.

Earlier, on June 27, the Pentagon announced the allocation of an additional $500 million military aid package by the United States. The new package consists of weapons that are necessary for Ukraine’s counteroffensive actions, as well as to strengthen its air defense. In particular, Washington will provide Kiev with 30 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 25 Stryker armored personnel carriers, AT-4 and Javelin anti-tank systems, Stinger anti-aircraft systems, ammunition for Patriot air defense and HIMARS missile systems.