Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, shares his perspective on Biden's strategy on the Ukraine crisis.

Does Biden's decision to send troops to Eastern Europe signal that he expects a military conflict in Ukraine?

No. The deployment of 2000 additional troops accomplishes three goals. One, it acts as a deterrent to Russian aggression. Two, it reassures US allies including Poland and Romania that the US is prepared to defend them against Russia, should it come to that. And three, it potentially opens the door to additional talks between the US and Russia. Notably, these troops are not going to Ukraine. The US is not bound by any treaty to protect Ukraine and nor would it be likely to deploy troops to Ukraine if Russia does invade. But in case an invasion happens, Biden wants to signal to allies that he's prepared to escalate both by supplying additional weapons to Ukrainian forces and through sanctions that would hurt key Russian leaders and the Russian economy.