The Pentagon announced last week that U.S. troops who have been stationed in Ukraine can earn “imminent danger pay” since they are in a warzone, which amounts to more than $200 a month in their paychecks, according to Stars & Stripes.

The extra money is retroactive to 24 April 2022, which the report said is the time that State Department employees in the country received bumps in their paychecks. The report noted that some of these troops will also be eligible for an additional $100 for hardship allowances. 

A U.S. military official told the paper that there are no American forces actively fighting in the country on behalf of the Pentagon. These troops have been mainly housed in the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. 

While the Pentagon has insisted that U.S. troops are not actively fighting Russia, there seems to be a lot of wiggle room about their tasks. Washington provides Kyiv with intelligence and has been training Ukrainian forces. There are reportedly thousands of troops from NATO countries who are fighting alongside Ukrainians who have signed on as mercenaries.

The Pentagon announced in December that it is sending U.S. troops into Ukraine, under the guise that they are going there not to fight, but instead just to track the billions of dollars of weapons the West sent into the country. (See “SENDING TROOPS TO UKRAINE BUT CALL IT SOMETHING ELSE,” 20 Dec 2022.)

The U.S. has been training Ukrainian forces outside of Ukraine and the effort is only expected to intensify as the West plans to provide pilots with F-16s. 

Grier Martin, who is temporarily serving as the Pentagon’s top personnel official, approved the new payment in a 13 July memo posted on Facebook, The Military Times reported.

TRENDPOST: The move to provide these troops with hazard pay comes shortly after President Joe Biden announced that 3,000 reservists should be ready to be deployed to Europe. (See “WWIII: BIDEN ORDERS 3,000 RESERVISTS TO BE READY FOR EUROPEAN DEPLOYMENT,” 18 Jul 2023.)

Washington moved 20,000 additional troops into Europe in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has added support for NATO countries.

The Trends Journal has reported extensively on how the U.S. is at war with Russia. (See “U.S. AT WAR WITH RUSSIA: UKRAINIAN MILITIAS USE AMERICAN VEHICLES IN ATTACK IN RUSSIA” 30 May 2023, “RFK JR. AGREES WITH CELENTE: U.S. PUSHED RUSSIA INTO UKRAINE WAR” 9 May 2023, “AS WE’VE WARNED: RUSSIA SAYS THREAT OF NUCLEAR EXCHANGE WITH U.S. GROWING” 25 Apr 2023, and “RUSSIA: U.S. CONDUCTING ‘TOTAL’ HYBRID WAR, PUTTING TWO NUCLEAR POWERS ON PATH TO CLASH” 14 Feb 2023.)

The Military Times, citing a report from ABC News, said there is a special operations team in Ukraine that protects foreign dignitaries who visit the country and help with the intelligence-gathering operations. But this group does not visit the front lines or take part in any military operations.