The USA is bringing more nuclear bombs to Europe while withdrawing troops from Hungary, Romania
According to German media, the United States plans to increase the number of nuclear bombs stationed in Europe, even as American troops leave both Hungary and Romania.
The White House insists there is no troop withdrawal
This claim was also addressed during Viktor Orbán’s joint press conference in Washington last Friday, when journalists asked about it. President Trump stated that no troop withdrawals are taking place. He expressed his fondness for the Romanians and praised the excellent cooperation with Europe, though he noted disagreements on immigration issues, which he said do not affect military policy.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was quick to back up his boss, adding that all parties concerned had been informed in advance about planned repositioning, but there are no withdrawals.
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In contrast, an article from the Menedzsment Fórum reports that out of 1,700 American soldiers, only 1,000 will remain in our eastern neighbour’s country. The Russian Kommersant newspaper says this move is to allow the redeployment of American troops to the Indo-Pacific region. Romania’s Ministry of Defence confirmed the same.
According to Hungary’s Ministry of Defence, the withdrawal touches a training unit stationed here, but the ministry emphasised this is actually a rotation-based redeployment. The operation does not affect permanent American units based here, such as the Heavy Airlift Wing in Pápa. Incidentally, a 15-year-old Dutch girl disappeared from Pápa yesterday; her parents are believed to serve in the international unit.
A sensible redeployment
The decision makes sense given that the United States faces a global challenger not in economically modest Russia but in China, whose GDP is nearly on par with the U.S. The main “battlefield” with this Asian superpower is the Pacific Ocean, where Washington is diligently building its defensive umbrella. Meanwhile, the U.S. has long urged its European allies to increase spending on defence, military forces, and arms industries. That’s why they pushed the minimum defence development budget from 2% to 5%, a move that could lead to massive contracts for American arms suppliers.
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The U.S. may bring more nuclear bombs to Europe
Currently, about 84,000 American soldiers are stationed in Europe, compared to over half a million during the Cold War. The largest contingent is in Poland, with roughly 10,000 troops, and this deployment will remain untouched in the current reshuffle.
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German media, citing NATO sources, report that along with troop redeployments and some unit withdrawals, the U.S. will deploy additional tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. According to available information, there are no nuclear bombs on Hungarian soil, but six NATO countries do store them — with explosive yields ranging from 0.3 to 170 kilotons (for comparison, the Hiroshima bomb was 15 kilotons, and Nagasaki’s was 21 kilotons). Radio Free Europe says these weapons are kept in the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey. Their number currently hovers around 120, but reports suggest this will increase.
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