Pentagon press secretary John Kirby on Wednesday said decisions about limitations on coverage are part of a broader U.S. government strategy for managing the Ukraine crisis.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. WASHINGTON — Reporters covering the Pentagon and U.S. military are protesting what they say is a refusal to allow access to the approximately 3,000 U.S. troops being deployed in Europe in response to rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia has amassed some 100,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine, some for joint military exercises in Belarus, but insists it has no intentions of invading Ukraine. President Joe Biden has ordered additional U.S. troops deployed to Poland, Romania and Germany. Poland borders both Russia and Ukraine, while Romania borders Ukraine. There are no plans to send U.S. combat troops to Ukraine.
The letter describes the denial of media access as “contrary to the basic principle of press freedom,” and asks the Biden administration to reverse course. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby on Wednesday said decisions about limitations on coverage are part of a broader U.S. government strategy for managing the Ukraine crisis on the “geo-political stage” in search of a diplomatic solution.