The Pentagon announced Monday that at the direction of President Joe Biden it’s placing 8,500 American troops at a “heightened readiness to deploy” in support of Eastern NATO allies should the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine warrant. Department of Defense (DoD) press secretary John Kirby stressed to reporters at a Jan. 24 briefing that “no decision has been made to deploy” any troops at this time. “We remain committed to the (NATO) alliance, and we absolutely remain committed to bolstering the capabilities of NATO’s eastern flank to the degree that they desire that extra support,” Kirby said. Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops along its border with Ukraine, as well as Russia-annexed Crimea and Belarus. Kirby said Monday that the Russian force has continued to grow in recent days. If deployed, the U.S. troops would act in support of the multinational NATO Response Force (NRF), which comprises roughly …