Pentagon leaders at a press briefing on Friday insisted that the department would be prepared for an evacuation of Americans out of Ukraine if called to do so, despite a disastrous evacuation out of Afghanistan last summer.
Asked if the U.S. troops would be used if an evacuation of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev became necessary, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin responded, “We prepare for a range of activities and options. That’s what we’ve always done, and that’s what you can expect us to do going forward.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley then noted that the State Department has issued travel advisories for U.S. citizens in Ukraine to leave.
“Those are in effect right now. And those advisories say words to the effect of ‘Don’t travel to Ukraine, if you’re an American citizen,’ and ‘If you’re in Ukraine, you should consider leaving Ukraine.”
When CBS News’s David Martin observed, “There were similar advisories before Afghanistan too and it didn’t forestall an evacuation crisis,” Milley responded, “That’s also correct.”
Austin then jumped back in.
“Rest assured David that whatever task the United States military is called upon to accomplish, we’ll be prepared to do it,” he said.
The Pentagon had also insisted it had planned for an evacuation from Afghanistan for months. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told MSNBC that planning for the non-combatant evacuation operation in Afghanistan went “as far back as May,” according to Axios. He added, “No plan survives first contact.”
It is not clear how many Americans are in Ukraine. Last month, Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said there were a range of 10,000 to 15,000 Americans in Ukraine.
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