The US administration has decided to suspend some security assistance programs for European countries near the border with Russia, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two of its sources, BTA reports.
This information comes at a time when President Donald Trump is increasingly pursuing his "America First" policy, within the framework of which his administration has limited foreign aid and increased pressure on European countries to spend more on their own defense, the agency notes.
Among the main recipients of security funding are Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Reuters points out. The US Congress has already approved funds for the aid program, which is under the auspices of the US Department of Defense, but only until the end of September 2026. The Trump administration has not requested an extension of the program, the Financial Times reported.
The publication cited a White House official as referring to an executive order signed by Trump shortly after the start of his second term in January.
“On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed an executive order to reassess and redirect US foreign aid,“ the official said. "This measure is coordinated with European countries in line with the decree and the president's long-standing emphasis on ensuring that Europe takes greater responsibility for its own defense," he said.
The Lithuanian Defense Ministry confirmed that Washington has informed its European partners about a planned reduction in U.S. military aid to countries bordering Russia, Newsweek reported. Lithuanian officials said they had received "certain signals" that the funding would be cut, but had not yet received an official written notification from the White House.
Vaidotas Urbelis, director of defense policy at Lithuania's Ministry of National Defense, told reporters on Friday that the United States had begun talks with European countries about reducing military funding for countries close to Russia. "Last week, the US Department of Defense informed the countries that starting next year, starting next fiscal year, this money line will be zeroed out for all European countries," Urbelis said. "Officially, in writing, on paper, it doesn't exist." There are conversations, there is certain information and certain statements from which we see the overall picture“, he added, however.
“We are talking to representatives of the Ministry of Defense, we are looking at possible options which programs will continue, which can be postponed and what path we will take“, Urbelis also said.
The US notification to NATO members and other partners that it plans to suspend some security assistance to countries close to Russia has potential strategic consequences for deterrence on NATO's eastern flank and for debates about the distribution of the burden of defense between the United States and Europe, notes “Newsweek“.
Trump has long argued that European countries are too dependent on US military capabilities and has expressed skepticism regarding military alliances such as NATO, writes the “New York Times“. During his second term, he called on European countries to increase their military spending and take a greater role in helping Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.
However, he does not appear to have significantly changed his attitude towards NATO, after European leaders largely accepted his position that they must do more to defend their countries and created funds to pay the United States for weapons for Ukraine, the newspaper said.
The American president has taken an ambiguous approach to Europe amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, showing both disappointment and friendliness towards Putin, while at the same time supporting plans to help Kiev by selling American weapons, the Washington Post commented.
The publication cited several sources in the American administration, according to whom the Pentagon under Trump has also begun to send mixed signals. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met in July with the leaders of the three Baltic states bordering Russia - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - and praised their efforts to increase defense spending. Behind the scenes, however, the U.S. Department of Defense has been aggressive in its efforts to cut certain programs that support these countries, the newspaper said.
In the Republican-controlled US Congress, where support for NATO and Ukraine remains strong, lawmakers from both parties expressed confusion about the administration's plan, the “Washington Post“ reports. They said it was unclear to what extent the funds would be affected and whether any of the earmarked funds were related to Ukraine. One senator said the Department of Defense had not provided lawmakers with information on the matter, despite requests to do so.
Republican Don Bacon wrote on social media that it would be “a disastrous and shameful decision“. “This administration continues to be WEAK on Putin and a WEAK leader of the free world,“ he added. "This will go down as an ugly page in American history if the president doesn't change course," Bacon said.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said "this is a misstep that sends exactly the wrong signal as we try to force Putin to the negotiating table and deter Russian aggression."
Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, along with Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, have proposed including text in Congress' annual defense bill to codify the Baltic Security Initiative, a program that establishes military cooperation between the United States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
According to observers familiar with the matter, U.S. lawmakers fear that even if lawmakers approve funding for Eastern European programs for security, the Defense Department can redirect funding without their consent through a process known as "reprogramming," which allows the Pentagon to transfer certain amounts without congressional approval, the Washington Post reported.
However, U.S. State Department funding for Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia has not been affected for now, ABC News reported. It provides about $7 billion a year in military aid to the Baltic states, of which nearly $6 billion is foreign military funding used by those states to buy U.S. ammunition and other weapons.
The Estonian Defense Ministry even suggested that the funding cuts might not happen, the American media outlet reported.
Congress has included the Baltic States Security Initiative in the budget before, although the Pentagon "has never been a big fan of it," said Helga Kalm, deputy director of the International Center for Defense and Security in Tallinn, Estonia. "It's too early" to say whether the funding will actually be cut or not, she said.