Western security officials fear a potential agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine could lead to a significant reduction of American military presence in Europe, Germany’s BILD newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The report claims that Putin’s 2021 demands—calling for U.S. troop withdrawals from NATO states that joined after 1990—are back on the table. Although U.S. bases in Ramstein, Germany, and airbases in Great Britain are reportedly exempt from any withdrawal plans, concerns loom over other key deployments, including the U.S. contribution to NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
Italy, which leads the Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission with the largest contingent, is said to be preparing for a potential U.S. pullout from Kosovo. Western diplomats warn that such a move could leave European allies vulnerable in the Balkans amid rising tensions and the military buildup of Serbia under President Aleksandar Vučić.
German diplomats described the scenario of a U.S. withdrawal from Kosovo as “quite conceivable,” raising alarms over stability in a region still recovering from the 1990s conflicts.
Current NATO/KFOR Troop Deployment in Kosovo
KFOR currently has 4,686 troops from 27 allied and partner nations stationed in Kosovo. The United States maintains the second-largest contingent with 602 soldiers, after Italy’s 1,258 troops. Other key contributors include:
Hungary: 365
Turkey: 325
Germany: 269
Poland: 247
Switzerland: 211
Romania: 182
Croatia: 152
Latvia: 140
Bulgaria: 127
Greece: 121
Slovenia: 109
Austria: 105
Albania: 90
Finland: 70
North Macedonia: 67
Armenia: 57
United Kingdom: 47
Moldova: 44
Czech Republic & Denmark: 35 each
Ireland: 13
Canada: 5
Sweden & France: 3 each
Montenegro: 2
Lithuania & Portugal: 1 each
KFOR was established in 1999 under a United Nations mandate to maintain security and freedom of movement in Kosovo. It remains a cornerstone of NATO’s commitment to peace in the Western Balkans. However, with tensions mounting in northern Kosovo and Serbia’s military posture hardening, a potential reduction in U.S. forces could complicate the mission’s operational capacity.
NATO officials maintain that KFOR is “vigilant and ready to respond” to any security challenges. “The multinational composition of the force demonstrates NATO’s collective commitment to Kosovo’s stability,” a NATO spokesperson said.
Implications of a U.S. Withdrawal
Analysts warn that a diminished U.S. presence could embolden nationalist forces in the Balkans and strain European military resources. The United States plays a pivotal role in KFOR’s operational capabilities, including intelligence, logistics, and rapid deployment.
While President Trump has publicly ruled out a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Europe, uncertainty remains about specific deployments, particularly in regions deemed less critical to U.S. strategic interests.
The potential withdrawal of U.S. troops from Kosovo would represent a major shift in the security dynamics of the Western Balkans, leaving European NATO members to shoulder the burden in a region with unresolved ethnic tensions and geopolitical rivalries./BV
