US to Reduce Troop Presence on NATO’s Eastern Flank, Says Romania

 

🇺🇸 U.S. to Cut Troops in Romania Amid Strategic Shift to Indo-Pacific

Romania’s Defence Ministry has announced that the United States plans to reduce its troop presence on NATO’s eastern flank — a move reflecting the Trump administration’s new global priorities.

Bucharest confirmed that between 900 and 1,000 American troops will remain stationed in Romania, down from 1,700. The ministry said the adjustment had been anticipated and described it as a “resizing” of U.S. forces in line with Washington’s evolving defence strategy.

Defence Minister Ionut Mosteanu revealed that his U.S. counterpart Pete Hegseth recently urged European nations to take greater responsibility for their own defence, as Washington shifts its focus toward the Indo-Pacific region.

At the heart of the move is the rotation out of one U.S. brigade from the Mihai Kogălniceanu Airbase — set to become NATO’s largest in Europe — which will not be replaced. The brigade has operational components in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary, though it remains unclear if those deployments will also be scaled back.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, underscored that this change “does not represent a withdrawal from Europe” or a weakening of America’s commitment to NATO or Article 5, which guarantees collective defence for any member under attack.

Romania’s key bases at Deveselu and Campia Turzii will remain fully operational with U.S. personnel in place.

Neighboring countries have sought clarity — Poland’s defence minister said Warsaw had received “no information” about possible reductions in its U.S. troop levels.

A NATO spokesperson reassured allies that Washington’s dedication to the alliance remains “clear and unchanged,” noting that even after the adjustment, U.S. forces in Europe are at their highest levels in decades.

Currently, the U.S. maintains over 100,000 troops across Europe.

The troop reduction comes just weeks after NATO launched Operation Eastern Sentry, aimed at enhancing vigilance along the alliance’s eastern flank, following Russian drone and aircraft incursions into the airspace of Poland, Romania, and Estonia.

For many in Eastern Europe, the decision fuels unease over potential Russian aggression, even as NATO insists its collective defence posture remains strong.