The US is withdrawing much of its military support from Eastern Europe, a move apparently intended to force European countries to pay more for defense in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The White House praised Europe for “stepping up” militarily, and said the move was to further encourage it to take “more responsibility for its own defense.” Europe has boosted military spending in the face of Russian aggression and US isolationism, and at a summit Thursday the French president said 26 European countries “are ready” to participate in a postwar peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.
But European Union officials told The Washington Post that the US withdrawal would signal weakness to Russia.