Politics- The US is preparing for Americans fleeing to Poland if
Russia invadesUkraine , The WSJ reported. - The US wants to avoid another 'chaotic' situation like
Afghanistan , officials said.
In an effort to avoid a repeat of the harrowing situation seen during the US military's final days in Afghanistan, the White House approved a Pentagon plan to prepare for the arrival of fleeing Americans should Russia invade Ukraine, US officials told The Wall Street Journal.
A portion of the 1,700 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Corps being deployed to Poland as part of a show of support for the NATO alliance during tensions with Russia will begin setting up tents and checkpoints in the coming days, The Journal reported.
"Everyone who lived the evacuation from Afghanistan felt it was remarkable but also chaotic," one defense official told this media outlet. "That was a messy, messy withdrawal. We don't want a chaotic withdrawal from Ukraine."
Responding to the report from The WSJ on planning, a White House official told Insider that "these are multi-mission forces, trained and equipped for a variety of missions to deter aggression and to provide reassurance to NATO Allies."
"We are constantly evaluating the evolving security situation and planning for a range of contingencies as we always do, but to be clear we are not planning for a mass evacuation of American citizens from Ukraine," the official explained. "President Biden has been clear that we believe Americans in Ukraine would be wise to leave Ukraine."
The Biden administration continues to face criticism in Washington for how it handled the situation in Afghanistan last summer. The withdrawal of US forces and personnel coincided with the Taliban regaining control of the country for the first time since 2001, and saw thousands flood the airport in Kabul as they desperately sought to flee the country.
As the US evacuated Americans and Afghan allies and their families, 13 US service members and 170 Afghans were killed in an ISIS-K suicide bombing near the Kabul airport. Days later, a US drone strike intended to prevent another ISIS-K attack mistakenly targeted an aid worker — killing 10 civilians, including seven children.
When the last US soldier departed Afghanistan, a number of Americans who wanted to leave and thousands of Afghan partners were left behind. There are ongoing efforts to get these people out, but many remain in Afghanistan.
The chaotic Afghanistan evacuation came at the end of a tumultuous 20-year war for the US. The Biden administration faces a far different set of circumstances with Ukraine.
There are roughly 30,000 American citizens in Ukraine, and President Joe Biden said earlier this week it would be "wise" for them to leave the country. Russia has gathered over 130,000 troops near Ukraine's border, and the US has repeatedly warned Russia could invade at any moment.
The Kremlin has said over and over again that it is not planning to attack or invade, but its force posture is alarming, especially since Russia has launched military incursions into Ukraine in the past decade.
In 2014, for instance, Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. And since then, Russia has supported rebels in the eastern Donbas region in a war against Ukrainian forces that has killed over 13,000 people.
Ongoing diplomatic efforts by the US and its allies to avoid conflict and thwart broader confrontation have so far failed to yield any significant breakthroughs. Russia has made demands for binding security guarantees from the West, including barring Ukraine and Georgia from ever joining NATO. The alliance and the US have remained firm that this demand is a non-starter, underscoring that NATO's open door policy is non-negotiable.
Amid tensions, Russia and Belarus began ten days of joint military exercises on Wednesday. Roughly 30,000 Russian troops are in Belarus, which borders Ukraine, for the exercises. Western officials have expressed concerns that these Russian forces will be permanently based in Belarus, but the Kremlin has dismissed these assertions.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday told reporters that the plan was always for the troops to leave Belarus after the drills but didn't offer a specific timeline, per Reuters.
Ukraine is not a NATO member, and Biden has ruled out sending US troops to defend it if Russia attacks. But the president did approve the deployment of several thousand troops to NATO member countries in the region, including Germany, Poland, and Romania, in response to the contentious situation. Separately, 8,500 US troops have been placed on high alert for a potential deployment to Eastern Europe.