WASHINGTON — Although President Joe Biden said the U.S. military will not play a fighting role in the deepening Ukraine crisis, 3,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division have been ordered to Europe.
And the Navy has at least a dozen warships in the Mediterranean Sea, including the Norfolk-based USS Harry S. Truman.
Members of the House Oversight Committee were told on Wednesday the situation is worsening.
"There's been no real sign of de-escalation from the Kremlin, despite recent vague comments from Moscow about minor troop withdrawals," said retired Army Lieutenant General Ben Hodges of the Center for European Policy Analysis.
Andrea Kendall Taylor of the Center for a New American Security also testified.
She said: "And while the door to diplomacy is not closed, and efforts must be made to find a diplomatic path, there remains a significant risk that Russia will launch a military incursion into Ukraine."
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Massachusetts) said it's a dangerous time.
"President Biden has rightly asserted that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be the most consequential thing that's happened in the world in terms of war and peace since World War II," he said.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) said the Russian buildup near the Ukraine border "is of grave concern."
He added: "I have been having a lot of meetings with the Administration and my colleagues but also with our Europeans allies about this, so that we can make very plain to Vladimir Putin that should he invade Ukraine, there will be very, very swift sanctions and other consequences that would make it extremely unwise for him to do so."
And, in a disturbing sign of the deepening tensions, the Pentagon confirms three U.S. Navy P-8-A aircraft "experienced unprofessional intercepts by Russian aircraft" in international airspace over the weekend.