The United States is reportedly expected to keep up to 100,000 American troops in Europe in light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, officials familiar with the matter said on Friday.

According to CNN, which cited multiple US officials, plans to increase American troop presence for the foreseeable future are being considered after Thursday’s NATO meeting in Brussels, and could be announced at a meeting of the alliance’s military chiefs in Madrid at the end of next month.

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After Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine on February 24, the US increased its force posture in Europe from 60,000 troops prior to the invasion to 100,000 troops.

Now, it seems that the US is keen on maintaining a 100,000-strong troop presence in Europe in a bid to bolster security in the region, especially in light of Russia’s threats of a “response” to Sweden and Finland’s bid to join NATO.

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Officials familiar with the matter further told CNN that the decision to increase US troop presence in Europe for the foreseeable future is in line with recommendations by top military officials.

Indeed, General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had, in April, urged members of Congress to consider setting up permanent military bases in eastern Europe as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. General Milley had explained that postings at said bases need not be permanent, and could be achieved by rotating troops.

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Similar, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, in April, had hinted at a change in the US’ force posture in Europe, saying, “This unlawful and unprovoked aggression by Putin has the effect of changing the security architecture in the region for some time to come.”

“We do expect that it will change our footprint. In terms of how much it changes the US contribution, that’s left to be seen,” the defence secretary had said.

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Subsequently, in May, both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg hinted at changes to the alliance’s military posture in eastern Europe at an informal mid-month NATO meeting in Berlin.

“NATO is going to release its new Strategic Concept laying out how the Alliance will sustain and strengthen transatlantic security in the face of President Putin’s aggression as well as other emerging threats. And we’ll look ahead to our continuing efforts to fortify our force posture on NATO’s eastern flank,” Stoltenberg had said, adding that the final decision on the aforementioned changes to “reflect the new security reality in Europe” would be taken at Madrid in June.