by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Europe faced fresh anxiety Friday after the White House confirmed the United States will end support for a program that helped prepare Eastern European armies to counter potential Russian aggression.
A diplomat acknowledged the move was “causing a lot of concern and uncertainty,” likening it to U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s earlier cuts in international aid.
The program, part of so-called “section 333 funding,” allocated $1.6 billion in Europe between 2018 and 2022, about 29 percent of global spending. Key recipients included Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
White House officials said the decision is part of phasing out longstanding security assistance programs, which is in line with Trump’s demand that Europe take more responsibility for its defense. The cuts also follow an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office, requiring that U.S. foreign aid align strictly with his policies.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the decision “misguided” and warned it undermines efforts to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. Foreign Military Financing program — which covers major purchases such as jets, ships, and tanks — remains unaffected. However, the cuts come as Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby seeks to shift U.S. defense priorities toward the Indo-Pacific to counter China, raising new questions about Washington’s long-term commitment to Europe.
The developments also unsettled Poland, Eastern Europe’s largest NATO contributor, though Trump assured President Karol Nawrocki in Washington that U.S. troops would remain and vowed to back Warsaw “all the way.”
He said he wanted the bloodshed in Ukraine “stopped now” and warned that any Russian peace proposal would be judged bluntly: “We will either be happy about it or unhappy — and if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Jerusalem will host a high-level trilateral summit on Monday as Israel, Greece, and Cyprus move to deepen security, energy, and strategic cooperation amid growing concern over Turkey’s expanding military posture in the eastern Mediterranean.
In an emotionally charged appeal, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Jews worldwide not to surrender to hatred after at least 15 people were killed and dozens injured in what officials and Jewish leaders described as one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks against Jews abroad in years.
The U.S. military carried out massive air and drone strikes against more than 70 Islamic State (ISIS) targets across central and eastern Syria, U.S. officials said, following a deadly December 13 attack on American personnel.
The president of war-torn Ukraine says the United States has proposed a format for peace talks that would place Ukraine and Russia at the same table — but he doubts such a meeting would bring real progress.
Budget watchdogs are sounding the alarm as the U.S. hit an unfortunate fiscal milestone in fiscal year 2025: government spending on debt interest payments alone topped $1 trillion this year.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ action to bar “sex-rejecting” transgender procedures for minors has met with approval from groups that aim to protect children from harmful ideology, with some calling the move “long overdue,” stating that taxpayers should not be forced to pay for procedures that lack proven benefits.
After hours of tense negotiations, European Union leaders agreed to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion euro loan (about $100 billion) to meet the wartorn nation’s urgent financial needs. However, they failed to reach a consensus on whether the loan should be secured using Russia’s frozen assets held in Europe.