In a 2022 speech, Biden said that deploying US troops to fight in Ukraine would be akin to launching World War III, as that would bring the nation into direct conflict with Russia. Biden gave a speech in March 2022 in which he promised that "our forces are not engaged and will not engage in conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine."
"Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO Allies – in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west," he said.
Imminent danger pay is meant for troops who are deployed to areas where there is a high risk of injury or death, where they "could be harmed by hostile fire or mines, insurrection, civil war or terrorism," the Military Times reports.
In practice, this means that US troops in Ukraine are able to earn an extra $7.50 per day, though that sum is not to exceed $225 per month, but it will be back dated to April. An additional sum of $100 will also be made available, meaning that troops will see an extra $325 per month.
A memo that was confirmed to be official by Military Times, which was uploaded to Facebook on an unofficial armed services page, offers that personnel "who are on duty in the designated land area or airspace above Ukraine during any month or portion of a month in which this designation is in effect, and are qualified in all other respects, may be paid IDP at a rate of $225 for the entire month..."
US troops are currently stationed at the US embassy in Kyiv. This became known when a series of documents leaked by National Guard Airman Jack Teixeira showed that the US and our UK allies already have special forces teams on the ground in Ukraine.
At the time, the Pentagon was asked about the implications of there being US troops on the ground in Ukraine, and it was reported that there were special forces operating out of the embassy. The US has a great deal of equipment in country as well, and must look after that equipment.
The documents showed that there were, at the time, 14 special operations forces from the US in Ukraine by February 2023, and that there were 97 special operations forces from five allied NATO countries, including the UK.
