(CNN) As many as 8,500 US troops have been put on heightened alert for a possible deployment to Eastern Europe as Russian troops mass on Ukraine's border, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday. Earlier on Monday CNN reported the Biden administration was in in the final stages of identifying specific military units it wants to send to Eastern Europe, according to multiple US and defense officials. Biden discussed options for bolstering US troop levels in the Baltics and Eastern Europe with his top military officials during a briefing at Camp David on Saturday, according to a senior official. NATO countries are also sending additional ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe and putting forces on standby, Stoltenberg said in a statement Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address Monday that Ukrainian citizens have "no reason to panic" as authorities are "working for the full de-escalation of the situation" in eastern Ukraine.

Source: CNN January 24, 2022 20:52 UTC