NATO is carrying out its largest military exercise of 2025, testing its ability to quickly deploy large-scale forces to the eastern border of the alliance, as concerns rise about its most powerful member, the United States.
The exercises in Romania, which borders Ukraine, come as a shaken Europe faces a new direction in U.S. policy under President Donald Trump.
Ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the Steadfast Dart 2025 exercises involve around 10,000 military personnel from nine countries as part of NATO’s new Allied Reaction Force.
The drills are taking place over six weeks in Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called for allies to dramatically increase military spending and stated that U.S. security priorities now lie elsewhere, raising doubts about Washington’s long-standing security guarantees to Europe.
Although the Trump administration has not announced plans to withdraw U.S. forces from the region, Hegseth’s remark that “European allies must lead” has left NATO partners considering a possible new reality in which the U.S. is no longer the continent’s primary security support.
Radu Tudor, a defense analyst in Bucharest, said that a reduction in the U.S. military presence in Romania would be “a gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The entire eastern flank of NATO would be weakened in the face of Russia’s aggressive behavior,” Tudor said, adding that this would push Romania to ask NATO allies to contribute troops and weapons to fill the gap left by thousands of U.S. troops.
