National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan: There will be ‘no U.S. boots on the ground in Ukraine’

The White House insists no US troops will be sent to the ground in Ukraine, despite President Joe Biden authorizing the deployment of 3,000 troops.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that the US will continue to support Ukraine in its war with Russia without sending troops into battle.

“We are going to take dramatic, bold steps to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Sullivan said in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press. “And we’d make sure we didn’t get into World War III with Russia — that is, American troops fighting Russian troops in Ukraine or wherever.”

“All I can say is that the basic US position on this boils down to one clear point, which is, we are going to support Ukraine with no American boots on the ground and American soldiers fighting Russian soldiers,” he reiterated.

“And that will remain consistent throughout this conflict.”

Comes after Biden authorized the deployment of an additional 3,000 US troops to Europe on Thursday — following a meeting at the 2023 NATO summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

NBC host Chuck Todd asked Sullivan why the White House would take any threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin seriously after he failed to retaliate or respond to other previous “red lines” the US has crossed in supporting Ukraine.

“As the conflict evolved, so did the nature of our aid to Ukraine,” he explained.

Sullivan added, “I can’t speak to what is in President Putin’s mind.”

President Biden on Thursday authorized the Pentagon to send an additional 3,000 reserve troops to bolster European security as he returned from a trip to NATO’s eastern flank, where he vowed to protect “every inch” of NATO territory.

The White House released the order as Biden wrapped up a meeting in Helsinki with Nordic allies, including Finland, the newest member of NATO’s 31-nation alliance, as Russia’s war against Ukraine rages.

“I hereby determine that it is necessary to strengthen the active military forces of the United States for the effective conduct of Operation Atlantic Resolve in and around the area of ​​responsibility of the United States European Command,” Biden said in a statement from the White House. House.

The number of units deployed cannot exceed 3,000, and no more than 450 can be members of the Individual Ready Reserve, according to order.

The move comes after alliance leaders took new steps to bolster Ukraine’s arsenal. The first cluster munitions approved by the Pentagon have already arrived in Ukraine. France is now supplying long-range missiles, and Biden indicated he may be open to the US supplying some as well.

The US has already taken steps to bolster its armed forces in case the war in Russia expands, sending about 1,000 troops to Lithuania, where Biden also visited this week.

Hours earlier, Biden stood side by side with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto voicing the US and NATO commitment to mutual defense.

Biden gave a speech in Lithuania where he spoke about the confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I say as sure as anything can be said about US foreign policy, we will stay connected to NATO, connected to NATO, mid to end. We are a transatlantic partnership,” he said at a news conference.

Biden vowed to protect “every inch of NATO territory, and of course that includes Finland,” he said. After negotiations with Turkey, the group is also on track to admit Sweden.

Last summer, the Department of Defense had approved or extended the rotations of an additional 20,000 U.S. military personnel, even as billions of dollars in military equipment were sent to Ukraine.

During his remarks in Finland, Biden had a blunt assessment of whether Putin could prevail in Ukraine or how long it would take to end the war.

“Putin has already lost the war,” Biden said, amid heavy fighting by Ukraine to regain territory.

“There is no way he will win,” Biden said.

He said Russia would run out of resources. “But I can’t predict exactly how that will happen.”

Yet there are also tensions in the US. Biden has said Ukraine’s artillery shells are “running out,” one of the reasons he decided to supply deadly cluster munitions.

The defense licensing bill faces major hurdles in the House amid infighting over abortion policy at the Pentagon, where 70 Republicans voted not to provide additional funding to Ukraine.