Jan. 24, 2022: Biden confronts major troop decision
With Congress out of town and President Joe Biden\u2019s legislative agenda paused, Washington will be dominated by Ukraine-Russia news this week.\nSome major developments on Ukraine in the past 24 hours:\n\u2014 Early this morning, NATO announced a buildup in Eastern Europe: \u201cNATO Allies are putting forces on standby and sending additional ships and fighter jets to NATO deployments in eastern Europe, reinforcing Allied deterrence and defence as Russia continues its military build-up in and around Ukraine.\u201d More from Reuters\n\u2014 The State Department on Sunday ordered all family members of U.S. government employees at the embassy in Kyiv to leave the country immediately, and it authorized the departure of some other embassy personnel. State also issued a new travel advisory for Ukraine: \u201cDo Not Travel due to the increased threat of Russian military action.\u201d Americans in Ukraine \u201cshould consider departing now.\u201d\xa0\n\u2014 Top Pentagon officials, per the NYT\u2019s Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt, presented Biden with options to send \u201cseveral thousand U.S. troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in the Baltics and Eastern Europe.\u201d\nSubscribe to POLITICO Playbook.\nRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.