The US is considering increasing its small military presence in Ukraine by sending up to 60 additional military advisers, POLITICO reported on Saturday, the same day the House approved $61 billion in spending for the proxy war.
Four unnamed US officials told POLITICO that the additional troops would "support logistics and oversight efforts for the weapons the US is sending Ukraine."
Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the potential deployment would augment US personnel based at the US Embassy in Kyiv.
"Throughout this conflict, the DOD has reviewed and adjusted our presence in-country as security conditions have evolved. Currently, we are considering sending several additional advisers to augment the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) at the Embassy," Ryder said.
Back in October 2022, the Pentagon announced that ODC and defense attaché personnel were back in Ukraine after being absent for the first few months of Russia’s invasion.
The Pentagon said at the time that the personnel were conducting "onsite" inspections of US-provided weapons.
Ryder said the ODC "performs a variety of advisory and support missions (non-combat), and while it is staffed exclusively by DOD personnel, it is embedded within the US Embassy, under Chief of Mission authority like the rest of the Embassy."
Ryder said the advisers would serve in a non-combat role, but the deployment would still mark an escalation of US involvement in the war and reflect the US’s long-term plans for the conflict. The US has sought to emphasize that they will not participate in battles.
Besides the ODC and defense attaché, the US also has a small number of special operations forces in Ukraine. The Discord leaks revealed last year that as of March 2023, 14 US special operations troops were in Ukraine.
