White House May Pull 10,000 Troops From Eastern Europe, Opening Door for Putin

The Trump Pentagon is considering a proposal to withdraw as many as 10,000 US troops from Eastern Europe, which would remove nearly half of the 20,000 troops sent by the Biden administration in 2022 to bolster NATO’s eastern flank after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

According to an NBC News report citing six American and European officials briefed on the discussions, the proposal is still under internal debate.

Sources said the potential cuts would target US forces in countries like Poland and Romania – a move that has sparked concern among both US lawmakers and European allies who fear it would be seen as a sign of weakness by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Seth Jones, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told NBC that Russia would likely view a downsizing of US forces as a weakening of deterrence.

“It will increase their willingness to meddle in various ways across the spectrum in Europe,” he said.

The reported discussions come as US President Donald Trump seeks to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, while also pressuring European allies to shoulder more responsibility for their defense.

Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Armed Services Committee, slammed the idea of reducing US troops in Europe.

“I’m troubled at those deeply misguided and dangerous views held by some midlevel bureaucrats within the Defense Department,” he told a hearing last week.

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“They’ve been working to pursue a US retreat from Europe, and they’ve often been doing so without coordinating with the secretary of defense,” Wicker added.

NBC said the Pentagon declined to comment, while a National Security Council spokesperson told the outlet: “The President is constantly reviewing deployments and priorities to make sure he keeps America First.”

Analysts warned that any troop withdrawal would leave a gap in NATO’s eastern defenses at a time when Russia is rebuilding its military and increasing weapons production.

“You’ll have a lot less deterrent capability,” retired US Army Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges told NBC. “Now Poland obviously is growing its capability, the Romanians are, other European countries are, but that’ll be a hole that’ll have to be filled.”

According to a Danish intelligence report cited by NBC, Russia could be ready to launch a large-scale war in Eastern Europe within five years if NATO fails to strengthen its defenses – especially in the event of a frozen conflict or ceasefire in Ukraine.

Notably, the US military plans to shift personnel and equipment away from a key logistics hub in southeastern Poland used to channel military aid to Ukraine, relocating them to other areas within the country.

According to officials, operations at the Jasionka airport near Rzeszów – a critical transit point for Western military assistance to Kyiv – will continue under the management of Poland and other NATO allies, with a smaller, more streamlined US presence providing support.

In a statement on Monday, the Pentagon said the move, coordinated with Warsaw and NATO, is part of a broader strategy aimed at optimizing military operations, strengthening support for allies, and improving overall efficiency.