More than 40 military bases, Putin’s shadow and Europe’s new challenge due to the withdrawal of US soldiers.

The Pentagon had said Friday that it was preparing to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany. But this Saturday Trump raised the warning. “We are going to drastically reduce and We are going to cut much more than 5,000″, said the president of the United States in statements to the media in Florida.

After the initial threat, the government from Berlin sought to tone down the measure, although it made it clear that it marks a change of era. “U.S. troops were expected to be withdrawn from Europe, and also from Germany. The Europeans we have to take more responsibility in our security,” said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

Along the same lines, NATO noted that the movement “underlines the need for Europe to continue investing more in defense.”

In addition to being in conflict with the German authorities, Trump also exposed his differences with Pedro Sánchez and Giorgia Meloni, after both refused to use the bases in their countries for the war between the US, Israel and Iran.

The anger with the president of the Spanish government also dates back to Sánchez’s refusal to raise the Defense budget to the levels that the American president wanted.

Merz last week criticized the war in Iran, saying that the United States is being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and by reproaching Washington’s lack of strategy. Before the troop withdrawal announcement, Trump assured that the German chancellor approved Iran’s project to build a nuclear bomb.

The decision to repatriate American soldiers in Germany also had an impact within the United States, with questions even from Republicans.

Legislators from that United political space warned that the withdrawal could “sending the wrong message” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a time when the war in Ukraine continues to condition regional security. They also stressed that, although Europe increases its military spending, transforming that investment into concrete capacity will take time.

The drawdown, which the Pentagon expects to complete within six to twelve months, could be just the first step in a broader adjustment.

The United States usually maintains between 80,000 and 100,000 soldiers in more than 40 bases distributed in Europe. Its presence was reinforced after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although it remains far from the post-World War II peak: 475 thousand soldiers deployed on the continent.

Germany is the hub of that deployment, with around 35,000 troops in seven key installations (some sources indicate the actual number is as high as 39,000).

Among them, the Ramstein air base It stands out as the main logistics node outside the United States, while the commands for Europe and Africa are located in Stuttgart. In addition, facilities such as Grafenwöhr, Landstuhl or Büchel fulfill strategic functions ranging from training to the storage of sensitive weapons.

In Italy there are around 13,000 soldiers, in Poland 14,000, in the United Kingdom 10,000, in Spain about 4,000 – with the Naval Base of Rota as a strategic point – and in Romania about 2,000. In the latter country, the Constance base is expanding and could surpass Ramstein in size.

Additionally, the United States maintains nine Army garrisons (USAG): five in Germany, one in Belgium, one in Italy, one in Poland, and two in the Black Sea region (Romania and Bulgaria). France, meanwhile, does not host US bases and maintains an independent nuclear deterrent system.

The American presence in Europe is not limited to troops. It also includes air defense systems integrated into the NATO structure and part of the so-called “nuclear umbrella”with weapons deployed in several countries under Washington’s control. This framework has been, for decades, one of the pillars of deterrence against Russia.

In parallel, Europe began to accelerate debates that until recently seemed distant. The need to strengthen its own defense capabilities and reduce dependence on Washington now appears as a priority. In recent years, several countries have increased their military spending and committed to allocating a greater proportion of their domestic product to this objective.

In this context, Germany appears as a key player. Its role within NATO, its economic weight and its strategic location make it a central actor for any attempt to reconfigure European security. At the same time, the withdrawal of US troops reopens questions about the balance within the alliance.