The US Department of Defence is considering withdrawing thousands of military personnel from Eastern Europe, NBC News reports, citing six anonymous US and European government sources. 

The Trump administration wants to recall some of the 20,000 military personnel deployed under former US president Joe Biden to protect Ukraine’s neighbours, NBC writes on Tuesday. Exact numbers are not yet known, but it could concern about half of those troops, which are currently stationed in Romania and Poland.

President Donald Trump believes the US is contributing disproportionately to security in Europe. Trump wants to spend less on the armed forces, and the European withdrawal would free up resources for regions he considers more important, such as protecting the US-Mexico border and countering China in the Indo-Pacific.

Boost for Russia

The internal discussions about a partial withdrawal come at the same time as US efforts to persuade Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. NBC’s European sources point out that the proposal will heighten fears among European allies who see Russia as a growing threat. 

The Russians would “assess a downsizing of U.S. forces as a weakening of deterrence, and it will increase their willingness to meddle in various ways across the spectrum in Europe,” Seth Jones, a senior vice president with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told NBC.

There are currently around 80,000 US troops stationed in Europe.