The Department of Defense seeks to be prepared to fulfill President Joe Biden’s promise to defend “every inch” of the territory of the NATO member nations, CNN reports.

To this purported end, Washington has deployed additional troops in Europe and has sent weapons, such as Patriot missile systems, to Poland, and is considering stationing other troops in Romania and Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, a spokesman for the US European Command told CNN.

United States has stationed 15,000 soldiers in Europe, although the figure may reach 100,000 depending on the course of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reported that the bloc has 130 aircraft on high alert, more than 200 ships and thousands of additional troops in the region.

The most recent deployment includes the establishment of an “air support” operations center in Poland and Romania, the presence of refueling specialists in Germany, as well as the relocation of an aircraft carrier (and its strike group) to the northern Aegean Sea, the source said.

Last week, Biden justified the presence of US forces in Europe with the argument that they are there to defend their allies in case Russia decides to advance westward, and for that he confirmed the mobilization of ground troops, air squadrons, and ships. Although the president ruled out sending troops to Ukraine, the head of the White House reiterated military support for Kiev and requested additional funds from Congress for that purpose.

pgh/llp/jcm/avr