U.S. Colonel Says Troops Watching Outside Ukraine 'Ready if the Call Comes'

American troops in the 101st Airborne Division positioned near Ukraine are prepared to respond if the war with Russia reaches allied territory, U.S. Army Colonel Ed Matthaidess recently said.

The troops are positioned in a way that allows their artillery to be within easy range of Ukraine. The proximity also allows members of the division to gather intelligence and monitor fighters around the Black Sea, according to Stars and Stripes, a U.S. military news organization.

Matthaidess said on Monday that troops are "ready if the call comes."

"We are ready for whatever comes our way, and I'm very confident that we will accomplish any mission that's given to us," Major General Joseph P. "J.P." McGee, 101st Airborne Division commander, said recently during an interview at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base headquarters in Romania, according to Stars and Stripes.

Functioning as the division's first operational mission in Europe since World War II, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team includes nearly 5,000 soldiers along NATO's southeastern flank, with many positioned at strategic locations near Romania's coastline.

The unit was ordered to be anchored in those locations in June as part of the effort by the United States to provide support across NATO territory in case the Russian war goes beyond the borders of Ukraine.

After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Romania was viewed as the center of U.S. efforts to prevent Russian offensives in southern Europe, according to Stars and Stripes.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with a total of $21 billion in military assistance since the war began, including this week's security aid package of $1.85 billion.

"The American people are with you every step of the way," President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference at the White House on Wednesday. "And we will stay as long as it takes."

"Your money is not charity," Zelensky assured lawmakers in his address to Congress. "It is an investment in global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way. You can speed up our victory. I know it. Let the world see that the United States are here."

The military aid is meant to equip Ukrainian forces with strong weaponry, equipment and ammunition. The U.S. overall security aid package includes the MIM-104 Patriot, which is a surface-to-air missile system, Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs), Cougar mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles, and High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (Humvees).

Zelensky said this week that U.S. support to Ukraine "is crucial, not just to stand in such a fight, but to get to the turning point to win on the battlefield."

"We have artillery, yes. We have it. Is it enough? Quite honestly, not really," he added.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense for comment.