And U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at his first meeting with NATO colleagues in Brussels on Wednesday that European nations should dramatically increase their defense spending and shoulder the “overwhelming share” of funding for Ukraine.
The U.S. absence from the exercises comes as European nations scramble to build greater military self-sufficiency over their concerns about the Trump administration’s commitment to common defense and demands for increased European military spending.
Western military officials — anticipating lasting tension with Russia and President Vladimir Putin, possibly beyond the Ukraine conflict — argue that NATO’s new capability is becoming increasingly important to reinforce its eastern flank.
Greek and Spanish marines are leading Thursday’s military demonstration, an amphibious assault, near the central Greek city of Volos, marking the first full-scale operational deployment of NATO’s new Allied Reaction Force.
NATO is testing its ability to rapidly deploy across eastern Europe — without direct U.S. assistance — as Washington shifts its approach toward European defense and the war in Ukraine.
