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.
The six-week Steadfast Dart 2025 exercises across Bulgaria, Romania and Greece are taking place as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches the three-year mark. They involve some 10,000 troops from nine nations and represent the largest NATO operation planned this year.
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.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his intention to negotiate with Russia directly. 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.
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