The United States is set to withdraw around 5,000 NATO troops from Europe, with a majority coming from Poland, as President Trump is following through with issued threats to NATO, due to frustration over allied commitments throughout the Iran war.
USA announces it’s withdrawing 5000 troops from Europe, out of which 4000 will be withdrawn from Poland.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 20, 2026
Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, says an armored brigade is returning to the U.S. (4000 soldiers).
They had until now been based in Poland. pic.twitter.com/3LI8LQve47
"In accordance with President Trump's announcement, it'll be 5,000 troops coming out of Europe," Alexus Grynkewich, commander of the United States European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said. "As I mentioned in my opening comments, a fair number of those come from the Armored Brigade combat team that is returning, and the U.S. has also already announced that the previously planned deployment of a long-range fires battalion will be curtailed and will not start occurring."
"There's some other additional minor elements that'll be shifting as well," he said. "The planning is still ongoing for what those are for another several hundred troops, and so we can talk about that a little bit later, but the total number is 5,000. On your question of how does it impact us, since the Rotational Brigade that is returning now without replacement showed up in 2022, a lot has happened in the alliance. First off, the Baltic allies and the Poles and many others have really built up their ground combat power."
This comes as the Trump administration has grown increasingly critical of NATO. While there may be a case for Europe not directly engaging in military strikes against Iran, critics argue that European allies failed to assist in negotiations, did little to help secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and in some cases even complicated U.S. military operations.
Observers have also mocked Europe, once seen as a decisive and credible bloc, but now appearing willing to allow a third-world, terrorist state like Iran to control a portion of the EU's energy supply.
European countries are, however, taking their own steps as they move to reduce the United States’ role in the military alliance’s command structure, raising concerns that in moments requiring quick, decisive action, the U.S. could be forced to operate through slower, more consensus-driven European decision-making processes.