US troop deployment to Ukraine deters efforts to solve conflict: US colonel
3 Min Read
Earl Rasmussen, a former US army colonel, explains how Washington's alarmist approach to the Ukrainian crisis is more about its interests than about helping Europe.
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Ukrainian troops on the front line in eastern Donetsk in December 2021 (AFP)
According to the Vice President of the Eurasia Center, Earl Rasmussen, Washington's decision to deploy troops to Europe to counter "Russian aggression" on the Ukrainian border is a contradictory act against diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in the region.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Defense announced that it will be deploying more troops to Poland, Germany, and Romania in the coming days, saying that the deployment is devised to reinforce NATO's eastern borders as the crisis brews.
“This move is completely counter to diplomatic efforts and only acts to increase tensions which only leads to a more dangerous situation,” said Earl Rasmussen, who is also a retired US Army colonel, regarding the validity of the taken measure.
The VP explains that Washington's troop deployment is more about US objectives than it is about European security, and that actually, there isn't much consideration for European or Ukrainian security when all it is doing is trying to advance its own political objectives.
“The current situation has been created by the West, and more specifically the United States, for many reasons, including to distract from domestic issues; contain Russia; limit European and Russian cooperation hence limiting European sovereignty and economic development; and maintain US hegemony,” Rasmussen said.
While Russia does not intend to attack Ukraine, the US most recent decision seeks to provoke Russia, and developments like the escalation in Donbas, aim to drag Russia into defensive actions in the region, according to Rasmussen.
“These actions will increase tensions, however, I do not think Russia will launch any attack,” he said.
Furthermore, Rasmussen stated that the Russian troops currently stationed "on the Ukrainian border" are actually hundreds of kilometers away from the border.
As a recommendation, the retired US colonel advised that Europe seek and defend its own interests while what Ukraine should be doing is upholding the Minsk agreements.
Read more: Russia: Ukraine may destroy itself by violating the Minsk pact
“Both Ukraine and Europe need to seek a rapprochement with Russia,” Rasmussen added.
While NATO has kept raising the alarms for a potential Russian invasion, which Moscow denies, NATO's expansion of military activities near Russian borders, in addition to the alliance's prospects to expand east, is a threat to Russia's security, according to Moscow.
