After weeks of vague threats and halfhearted condemnations, the United States government seems to have made its first clear decision on how to respond to the escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis: back out. Over the weekend, the American embassy in Kiev announced it would evacuate nonessential personnel.
At the same time, the U.S. put more than 8,000 troops on alert for potential deployment—not to Ukraine, but to neighboring European countries, the Pentagon said. America is turning up the pressure in the region without directly affecting Ukraine’s situation, and for the first time in decades, the U.S. presence in Ukraine would actually decrease a bit, and none too soon.
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