US troops on NATO’s eastern flank to be reduced, Romania says

Romania’s defense ministry said the US intends to reduce some of its troops stationed on NATO’s eastern flank.

Between 900 and 1,000 US troops will remain in Romania, Bucharest said, down from 1,700.

The department said the decision was expected and that the “resizing” of US forces was a result of the new priorities of the Trump administration.

Defense Minister Yonut Mosteanu said his American counterpart, Pete Hegseth, had recently conveyed to the Europeans that they should pay more attention to their own defense and that the US was turning its attention to the Indo-Pacific region.

A US brigade at Mihai Koglunicanu Air Base – which will be NATO’s largest in Europe – will be rotated out and not replaced, Mostianu said.

The brigade has “elements” in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary, Mostianu said, although it is unclear whether US troops will be withdrawn from those countries as well.

Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosińak-Kamisz said on Wednesday that Warsaw had “no information” about a possible reduction of US troops on its territory.

The BBC has approached the Pentagon for comment.

The presence of American troops in the Romanian bases Deveselu and Campia Turzii will remain unchanged, Ionut Mostianu added.

Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to shift the focus of US military engagement from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region and has repeatedly called on European NATO members to take more responsibility for the continent’s defense.

But the announcement of the withdrawal of US troops from Romania will be unsettling for countries in Eastern Europe, many of which believe they have reason to fear a future Russian attack.

Shortly after the Bucharest announcement, a NATO official stressed that Washington’s commitment to the NATO alliance remains “clear” and adjustments are “not unusual.”

“Even with this adjustment, the U.S. force posture in Europe remains larger than it has been in many years, with many more U.S. forces on the continent than before 2022,” the official said in a statement.

The US has more than 100,000 troops stationed in Europe, according to figures from late last year.

Last month, NATO announced the creation of a mission called Eastern Guard, which it said would increase the alliance’s vigilance along its entire eastern flank.

The decision came after a dozen Russian drones entered Polish airspace, in the most serious incident of its kind since the war began in February 2022. Days later, Romania said a Russian drone had violated its airspace and Estonia said Russian warplanes had also violated its airspace.