The Pentagon announced it is withdrawing thousands of troops from Europe, reducing the number of US Brigade Combat Teams stationed on the continent from four to three. This scaling back returns troop levels to those seen in 2021, before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which the Pentagon stated is in line with President Donald Trump's "America first" agenda.
As part of these changes, the deployment of thousands of additional forces to Poland was abruptly halted last week. The US is also due to announce a reduction in the capabilities it makes available to NATO, as part of a signaled pivot to priorities outside of Europe.
President Trump has indicated that he expects European nations to take over primary responsibility for the continent's security. An upcoming summit will focus on plans to withdraw guarantees of support for European security architecture, even in wartime, and the depletion of critical weapons stocks resulting from the ongoing war in Iran.