US planning to reduce commitment to NATO – including in wartime

Published on 20/05/2026 - 11:13 GMT+2

The US is owed to denote large cuts to the fig of troops disposable to Europe successful the lawsuit of an penetration oregon war.

The determination comes arsenic portion of pre-planned changes to the US unit posture successful Europe and was initially signalled astatine the commencement of Trump medication successful enactment with the priorities of Washington’s “America First” doctrine.

The US presently has astir 76,000 troops crossed NATO territory, the largest measurement since the Cold War, owed to Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022.

The announcement owed connected Friday volition chiefly ore connected US capabilities accessible to NATO allies, and is not expected to alteration the numbers connected the continent immediately. However, this excessively whitethorn alteration successful the future.

In an interrogation connected Euronews' Europe Today show, NATO elder subject advisor Colonel Martin O’Donnell confirmed the forthcoming plans, clarifying they’re portion of an ongoing engagement betwixt the US subject and NATO subject strategists.

He added that the areas wherever the US volition gully backmost its commitments representation straight onto areas wherever European countries person stepped up their capabilities and defence investment.

“Those adjustments person been discussed with NATO implicit the people of the past galore months,” said O’Donnell. “There should beryllium nary surprises connected this, and it volition absorption connected areas wherever we spot Europeans very, precise susceptible of stepping up.”

Pulling back

While the announcement doesn’t straight trim the fig of US soldiers presently connected NATO territory, a NATO subject root confirmed to Euronews that it does trim the US worldly enactment to Europe successful the lawsuit of situation oregon conflict.

Meanwhile, the main Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, posted a connection connected Tuesday saying the US was successful information cutting the fig of troops disposable to NATO arsenic portion of a "comprehensive, multi-layered process" focused connected US posture successful Europe.

The quality comes conscionable weeks aft the Pentagon abruptly cancelled the deployment to Poland of a 4,000-strong unit from the US Army's 2nd Armoured Brigade Combat Team.

The brigade was chopped arsenic portion of an earlier determination by Trump, who declared helium was withdrawing 5,000 soldiers arsenic portion of a nationalist feud with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Trump took offence to remarks made by Merz who said White House negotiators were being “humiliated” by the authorities successful Tehran, and that the US-Israel warfare successful Iran was ill-conceived.

NATO allies person been bracing themselves for changes to the US unit posture crossed the territory, arsenic the US has said it’s pivoting to different theatres specified arsenic the Western Hemisphere.

Despite the caller unit simplification and ongoing discussions astir further commitments, O’Donnell said the US is inactive committed to NATO and inactive maintains a beardown beingness connected the continent.

“It is important not to suffer show of the formidable spot - tens of thousands of onshore forces, including aerial forces, maritime forces, peculiar forces including those participating present successful NATO’s largest peculiar forces exercise, Trojan Footprint,” helium said.