Overview
- The Pentagon will end the 101st Airborne’s rotation and redeploy roughly 700–800 soldiers to Kentucky, part of a wider shift affecting about 3,000 troops, with around 1,000 U.S. personnel set to remain in Romania.
- Secretary-General Mark Rutte called the change a routine adjustment and said allies can surge forces through initiatives like Eastern Sentry, expanded air defenses and larger Romania-based drills rising from 1,500 to over 5,000 troops.
- Romanian President Nicușor Dan and Rutte discussed bringing additional allied units to the eastern flank, including Romania, as Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base remains a key hub for Black Sea operations.
- Deputy defense minister Sorin Moldovan urged the U.S. to overturn the drawdown, warning it could feed Russian propaganda, even as NATO and several European governments said the move does not weaken defenses.
- Rutte said NATO has reversed Russia’s advantage in ammunition production, with dozens of new lines opened and output at the highest level in decades, as allies respond to drone incursions and airspace violations in Europe.