FT: US to cut some security funds for European countries bordering Russia

The US is to phase out security assistance programmes for European armies along Russia’s border, as it pushes the continent to pay for more of its own defence ‘Financial Times’ writes.

Pentagon officials last week informed European diplomats that the US would no longer fund programmes that train and equip militaries in eastern European countries that would be on the frontline of any conflict with Russia, people familiar with the matter said.

A White House official said the move aligned with President Donald Trump’s efforts to “re-evaluate and realign” foreign aid, and corresponded with an executive order he issued on his first day in office.

“This action has been co-ordinated with European countries in line with the executive order and the president’s long-standing emphasis on ensuring Europe takes more responsibility for its own defence,” the official said.

Under pressure from Trump, US NATO allies in June agreed to increase their defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP.

Winding down the section 333 funding would affect a programme with a worldwide budget of more than $1bn, according to estimates from Senate aides, potentially cutting hundreds of millions of dollars the US sends to the Russian border countries. The Pentagon has not informed lawmakers of the exact amount that will be phased out.

The programme allocated $1.6bn in Europe between 2018-2022, roughly 29 per cent of the global 333 spending, according to the US Government Accountability Office. Key recipients include Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Officials from dozens of European embassies in Washington, including from countries that do not receive the assistance, attended a meeting where Pentagon officials told them about the cuts.

The move appeared intended to encourage wealthier European countries to pay for more of the frontline states’ security assistance, one European official said.

European governments were startled by the communication and are trying to get further details from Washington, according to two diplomats briefed on the discussions.

The cuts also come as Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby seeks to shift US defence resources to the Indo-Pacific to boost deterrence and reduce the odds of a conflict with China over Taiwan.

The future of the Baltic Security Initiative, a separate programme created in 2020 to boost the armed forces of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, is also under threat. Last year, Congress approved $228mn to support the initiative.

The White House has not sought further funding for the programme in next year’s budget. A person familiar with the matter said the programme was being re-evaluated by the administration.

The loss of US security assistance would be “very tough” for the Baltic states, said retired US admiral Mark Montgomery, now a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies think-tank. “The whole idea here is making them capable of defending themselves.”

The administration is carrying out a review of its troop deployments worldwide and has said it intends to reduce its presence in Europe.

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