The US is dramatically phasing out crucial security assistance programmes for European armies stationed along Russia’s menacing border, as Donald Trump aggressively pushes the continent to cough up for more of its own defence.
Pentagon officials last week delivered the bombshell news to stunned European diplomats that America would no longer fund vital programmes that train and equip militaries in eastern European countries that would be on the frontline of any devastating conflict with Russia, people familiar with the explosive matter revealed reported the Financial Times.
Trump’s brutal budget cuts
Spending for the Pentagon programme, which falls under an authority known as section 333, must be agreed by the US Congress, but the Trump administration has pointedly refused to request more money. Funds already approved will remain available until the end of September 2026. The news comes as Russia sends horror WW3 threat to UK – ‘drown Britain with nukes!’
A White House official said the controversial move aligned with President Donald Trump’s relentless efforts to “re-evaluate and realign” foreign aid, and corresponded with a sweeping executive order he issued on his first day in office.
“This action has been co-ordinated with European countries in line with the executive order and the president’s long-standing emphasis on ensuring Europe takes more responsibility for its own defence,” the official declared.
Under intense pressure from Trump, US Nato allies in June buckled and agreed to dramatically increase their defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP.
Billions at stake for vulnerable nations
Winding down the section 333 funding would devastate a programme with a staggering worldwide budget of more than $1bn, according to estimates from Senate aides, potentially slashing hundreds of millions of dollars the US sends to the vulnerable Russian border countries. The Pentagon has refused to inform lawmakers of the exact amount that will be brutally phased out.
The programme allocated a massive $1.6bn in Europe between 2018-2022, roughly 29 per cent of the global 333 spending, according to the US Government Accountability Office. Key recipients include Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Officials from dozens of European embassies in Washington, including from countries that do not receive the assistance, attended a tense meeting where Pentagon officials delivered the devastating cuts.
The shock move appeared calculated to encourage wealthier European countries to pay for more of the frontline states’ critical security assistance, one European official revealed.
Europe scrambles for answers
European governments were left reeling by the brutal communication and are desperately trying to get further details from Washington, according to two diplomats briefed on the heated discussions.
European officials are also frantically trying to understand whether domestic funding can fill the dangerous gaps, or whether the savage cuts will have a catastrophic impact on critical elements of European security.
“If they are being brutal then it will have big implications,” said one of the diplomats, adding that Nato would definitely be affected as some of the funding was routed through the alliance.
“It’s causing a lot of concern and uncertainty,” said the second diplomat, comparing it with Trump’s earlier decision to slash US international aid.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate’s foreign relations committee, described the cuts as a “misguided move that sends exactly the wrong signal as we try to force Putin to the negotiating table and deter Russian aggression”.
Key programmes under threat
The US’s separate Foreign Military Financing programme, which provides funding to countries to buy big-ticket items such as fighter jets, ships and tanks, is not affected by the most recent decision, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The cuts also come as Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby seeks to shift US defence resources to the Indo-Pacific to boost deterrence and reduce the odds of a conflict with China over Taiwan.
Earlier this year, Washington abruptly halted shipments of munitions and several high-value weapons intended for Ukraine after Colby initiated a review that raised concerns about the US’s own stockpiles. Trump later ordered that the deliveries be resumed.
The future of the Baltic Security Initiative, a separate programme created in 2020 to boost the armed forces of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, is also under serious threat. Last year, Congress approved $288mn to support the initiative.
The White House has not sought further funding for the programme in next year’s budget. A person familiar with the matter told the Financial Times the programme was being re-evaluated by the administration.
Baltic states face tough reality
The loss of US security assistance would be “very tough” for the Baltic states, said retired US admiral Mark Montgomery, now a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies think-tank. “The whole idea here is making them capable of defending themselves.”
All three states share land borders with Russia, and the region has been subject to attacks attributed to Moscow, including on critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, cyber attacks and sabotage.
The administration is carrying out a review of its troop deployments worldwide and has said it intends to reduce its presence in Europe.
Trump met Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki at the White House on Wednesday and said he had no plans to withdraw troops from the country.
The US has about 10,000 personnel stationed in Poland on a rotational basis and Trump said he was “very happy” with the arrangement. “We’ll put more there if they want,” he added.