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21:34 GMT
WASHINGTON, May 13 (KUNA) -- The US will redeploy some 10,500 troops in Europe who were previously there, in a move aimed at providing "support" for NATO allies, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The dispatch will occur "in the coming months," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters after the repositioning order made by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. But the spokesman underlined that the US force posture in Europe remains unchanged.
"These are not permanent moves," Kirby said. "Moreover, these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine, they are going to support the robust defense of NATO allies," he added.
Thousands of US troops have been deployed and repositioned since March, conceded the Pentagon, in a move aimed to "bolster allies in Europe" amid Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
This includes, most recently, additional 200-troop aviation capabilities which bring the total US deployments in Europe to 100,000, according to the spokesperson.
Kirby said that these deployments will leave that number unchanged, as they are "one-for-one-unit replacements." (end)
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