Small changes, big impact: How Trump’s latest decision removes a key component of Europe’s deterrence
fanny.pollet@i…
Wed, 05/06/2026 – 22:32
6 minutes
On Friday 1 May, the Pentagon’s spokesperson confirmed that the US had ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 troops from Germany (roughly the size of a brigade). That marks President Trump’s latest blow to transatlantic security (1). The Pentagon also announced that the deployment of a long-range fires battalion equipped with Tomahawk and hypersonic missiles, set for 2026, will no longer go ahead.
This decision widens Europe’s deterrence gap vis-à-vis Russia in a key area: deep-precision strikes. It also indicates how the Trump administration is slowly implementing a force posture review without formally publishing one, and how it may also seek to appease the Kremlin in the process. Europeans need to quickly fill the gap – by increasing their own long-range strike capabilities, preparing for further reductions in US assets in Europe, and developing the right narrative vis-à-vis domestic and foreign audiences.
A force posture review in practice?
The US decision came as …read more
