A few dozen U.S. troops and additional military equipment were photographed landing at the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in Poland, located some ninety kilometers from the country’s border with Ukraine. This news comes in the wake of President Joe Biden’s order to deploy 1,700 troops to Poland amid renewed fears that the Kremlin is preparing for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Hundreds of troops belonging to the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division are expected to be transferred from Fort Bragg to southeastern Poland. Their commander, Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, was the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan. “Our national contribution here in Poland shows our solidarity with all of our allies here in Europe and, obviously, during this period of uncertainty, we know that we are stronger together,” Donahue said.

Polish defense minister Mariusz Blaszczak welcomed the deployment, saying that “deterrence and solidarity are the best response to Moscow’s aggressive policy, to the aggressive attempt at reconstructing the Russian empire.”

The U.S. deployment to Poland is part of Washington’s effort to reassure NATO allies on the alliance’s eastern flank amid Russia’s ongoing border standoff with Ukraine. “I want to be very clear about something, these are not permanent moves,” said Defense Department press secretary John Kirby in a press briefing last week. “They are moves designed to respond to the current security environment. Moreover, these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine, they are going to ensure the robust defense of our NATO allies.”

According to U.S. officials reportedly familiar with recent intelligence assessments, Russia has assembled at least 70 percent of the military capability that it intends to deploy for a potential full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The unnamed sources did not disclose how the government arrived at these estimates, and the outlets that first broke the news stressed that they have not seen any corroborating documents. The sources reiterated the Biden administration’s prior warnings that Moscow is planning a range of “false flag operations,” some involving Ukrainian atrocities against Russian citizens or pro-Russian separatists to the country’s east, to justify attacking Ukraine.

Some government officials believe that while the Kremlin is actively putting in place the capability to invade Ukraine, the final decision to do so has not yet been made. Moscow has consistently denied that it has any plans to attack Ukraine, denouncing the allegations as Western “hysteria.”

A full-fledged Russian invasion of Ukraine could cost the lives of 50,000 civilians, 15,000 Ukrainian troops, and 4,000 Russian military personnel, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley reportedly told lawmakers during private briefings last week. Milley added that Kiev could fall within seventy-two hours of a major Russian assault.

Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for the National Interest.

Image: Reuters.