--- title: "Are the US Abandoning Europe to Its Fate? Rapid Troop Withdrawal and Refusal of a Transition Period in NATO" description: "The US is preparing to sharply reduce its military presence in Europe, refusing a transition period for allies. Washington is shifting its focus to China, demanding that Europe take full responsibility for containing Russia. This decision threatens NATO's rapid reaction system and is causing panic in the Baltic states πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡ΈπŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊπŸš€" date: 2026-05-30T18:44:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/us-abandoning-europe-rapid-troop-withdrawal-refusal-of-transition-period-in-nato tags: [] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Are the US Abandoning Europe to Its Fate? Rapid Troop Withdrawal and Refusal of a Transition Period in NATO ![Donald Trump in front of NATO flag: US abandoning Europe without transition period?](https://xab.info/media/2026/05/30/sha-svertyayut-voyiska-v-evrope-otkaz-ot-perehodnogo-perioda-v-nato/sha-svertyayut-voyiska-v-evrope-otkaz-ot-perehodnogo-perioda-v-nato-1.webp) The United States is preparing for a radical restructuring of its military presence in Europe. Washington intends to scale back part of its forces on the continent faster than NATO headquarters anticipated and does not plan to provide allies with a significant transition period. This decision puts the familiar security architecture of the Western alliance at risk. According to a representative of the US Department of Defense, the details of the changes will be included in the force proposal at the next NATO Force Review conference, which will take place in June. ### The Logic of Shifting Focus to Asia Washington justifies its actions by the need to reallocate resources. "We want to provide allies with the necessary information and clarity to advance the transition to European defense as quickly and effectively as possible, where allies take on the primary responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe," the source told the publication. This position fully aligns with the demands Donald Trump made of European partners during his first term. After returning to the White House in January 2025, these theses were enshrined in the US National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy. Washington's logic is simple: the US can no longer fight wars on multiple fronts simultaneously. The focus of American geopolitics has shifted to China and the Indo-Pacific region, so the task of containing Russia falls entirely on the shoulders of Europe. ### Reduction of Fighters and a Blow to Reserves In Berlin and other alliance capitals, it was expected that the troop withdrawal would take place gradually and in a coordinated manner. However, as the publication Welt am Sonntag notes, the current US proposal does not provide any "grace period" for Europeans. A Pentagon representative added that Trump always reserves the right to "act in any manner he deems appropriate in any situation". At a meeting in Brussels last week, senior US defense policy advisor Alexander Velez-Green informed allies of the intention to partially abandon one of the areas of joint deterrence. According to Der Spiegel, this includes, in particular, a one-third reduction in US fighter jets. The most painful cuts will affect the NATO Force Model (NFM) β€” the alliance's rapid reaction system. It is this system that determines how many troops can be deployed within 10–30 days and how many soldiers can be mobilized within six months (up to 800,000). Within the framework of the NFM, the discussion concerns strategic bombers, long-range precision strike systems, the Navy, and tanker aircraft. ### Panic in the Baltic States The partial withdrawal of US troops significantly weakens the military basis of NATO's Article 5 on collective defense. This causes particular anxiety in the Baltic states. The alliance forces stationed there, in particular the German brigade in Lithuania, must organize initial resistance and buy time until reinforcements arrive. Without American support, this task becomes critically difficult. According to Welt am Sonntag, there are already doubts within the US military in Europe as to whether NATO has enough forces to fully implement regional defense plans β€” further reductions will only exacerbate this problem. Recall that in April 2026, the Pentagon already announced the withdrawal of about 5,000 troops from Germany. Subsequently, officials within the department unofficially called this a "punishment" for Berlin for comments regarding the US war with Iran. The American contingent in Europe is planned to be returned to 2022 levels.