U.S. scales back military presence in Eastern Europe
United States plans to withdraw about 800 troops from Romania (Photo: REUTERS/Valdrin Xhemaj)
The United States plans to withdraw about 800 troops from Romania and reduce its military presence in Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Hungary, G4Media reported on Oct. 29, citing government sources.
The announcement, which came as a decision of the White House, was made on Oct. 27 through official NATO channels and takes effect immediately, though Congress could still intervene.
American troops in Romania are stationed at the Mihail Kogălniceanu, Deveselu, and Câmpia Turzii bases, but it has not been specified which base will see reductions. Romania currently hosts around 1,000 U.S, troops.
Details regarding troop reductions in Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Hungary, including timing and scale, have not yet been disclosed.
Warsaw has not received any information from Washington indicating that the U.S. plans to reduce its troop presence in Poland, said Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Włodzimierz Kosiniak-Kamysz, commenting on the matter.
The U.S. military presence in Europe has fluctuated significantly over the decades. In 1957, at the height of the Cold War, there were 473,000 troops stationed across the continent. By 2008, after shifting focus to the Asia-Pacific, the number had dropped to 66,000.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the US deployed an additional 20,000 troops to countries bordering Ukraine, bringing the total to 100,000. As of 2025, this number remains unchanged, though some European diplomats anticipate a gradual reduction of US forces.
As of March 2025, there are at least 50 U.S.-controlled or host-nation military bases across Europe.
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