Washington (AFP) – The United States put 8,500 troops on alert Monday over the growing tension in Ukraine and President Joe Biden called European allies in an effort to maintain Western unity against Russian pressure. The European Union, meanwhile, urged allies to avoid a “nervous breakdown” in the face of fears that Russia could stage a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite insisting he has no intention of attacking, President Vladimir Putin has deployed some 100,000 troops close to Ukraine, where Russia already seized Crimea in 2014 and backs a separatist army in the east. In Washington, P…