Donald Trump, increasingly intensifying his pressures on his allies in Europe to increase their defense spending and to undertake the highest burden of their security themselves, has decided to gradually abolish financial support programs in Epirus countries.

Pentagon officials, according to the Financial Times, informed European diplomats last week that the US would stop funding the training programs and army equipment in Eastern European countries that could be at the forefront of a possible conflict with Russia, according to sources.

Expenditure on the Pentagon programs, subject to Article 333, require the approval of the US Congress and the Trump government has not requested the approval of new funds. The already approved funds are completed in late September 2026.

White house official said this move was aligned with President Trump’s efforts to “re -evaluate and adjust” foreign aid funds to comply with the executive decree issued on the first day of his current term.

“This action is being coordinated with European countries and is in line with the executive decree and the chronic emphasis by the president to take on Europe more responsibility for its defense,” the White House official said.

Under Trump’s pressure, US allies in NATO agreed in June to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP.

The government’s decision to reduce the funding of programs subject to Article 333, with a total global budget exceeding $ 1 billion, according to Senate employees estimates, may deprive hundreds of millions of dollars from the US funds.

The Pentagon, however, has not informed Congress members of the exact amount that will be gradually cut.

It is noted that through the program, the US has allocated between 2018 and 2022 funds of $ 1.6 billion in Europe, about 29% of global costs provided for under Article 333, according to the US government accountability. Among the main acceptable funds were Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Officials from dozens of European embassies in Washington, even from countries that do not receive US financial support, attended a meeting where Pentagon officials informed them of the cuts.

The move seemed to aim to encourage richest European countries to increase their spending on the safety of frontline states, a European official told the Financial Times.

European governments, however, have been taken aback by the White House movement and are trying to get more details from Washington, according to two diplomats who were aware of this information.

European officials are also trying to find out if domestic funding can fill in financial gaps or whether the cuts have affected critical areas of European security.

“If they are dramatic, then the effects will be significant,” one of the diplomats said, adding that NATO will certainly be affected, as part of the funding is channeled through the Alliance.

(Movement) “causes great concern and uncertainty,” the second diplomat said, comparing it with Trump’s decision to reduce US international assistance.

Senator Jean Sahin, a leading Democratic official in the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, described the cuts as “the wrong move that sends the wrong message when we are trying to force Putin to sit on the table of negotiations”.

A source with knowledge of the issue, however, clarified that the US other US military funding program, which provides funds to countries for the purchase of expensive military equipment such as fighter aircraft, ships and tanks, is not affected by the recent Trump decision.

It is also noteworthy that the cuts were decided at a time when Pentagon’s head Elbridge Colby seeks to turn the US defense funds in the Indo-Pacific region in order to enhance their deterrent capacity and to alleviate the chances of collision.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Washington has cut off the ammunition and high -value weapons for Ukraine, after Colby launched a US weapons reserves, which raised concerns. Shortly afterwards, Trump ordered the resumption of missions to Ukraine.

Trump’s latest decision, however, is jeopardizing another program, that of the Baltic Security Initiative, which began in 2020 with the aim of strengthening the armed forces of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Last year, Congress approved $ 288 million under the initiative.

This is because the White House has not requested additional funding for this program in the next year’s budget. A source aware of the issue told the FT that the program is being re -evaluated by the government.

Loss of US security aid will be a “very unpleasant” development for Baltic countries, said retired American Admiral Mark Montgomery, a current associate at the Think-Tank Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. “The goal here is to enable them to defend them,” he explained.

All three of the aforementioned countries are sharing land borders with Russia, while the Baltic has been attacked by Moscow, such as critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, cyberattacks and sabotage.

In addition, the Trump government has begun re -evaluating the troops it has developed around the world and has stated that it intends to limit the presence of US forces in Europe.

During his meeting with Polish President Carol Navrotsky at the White House on Wednesday, however, Trump said he was not planning to withdraw US troops from the country.

He notes that there are about 10,000 US troops in Poland, with Trump saying he is “very pleased” with the treaty. “We will develop even more there if they want,” he added.