European leaders say President Donald Trump's decision to pull thousands of U.S. troops out of Germany came as a surprise but is further proof that they must take care of their own security.

Europe already knew it needed to strengthen its own long-range missile capabilities. But that urgency has sharply increased after the United States decided it would no longer deploy a planned missile battalion to Germany.

Trump has ordered 5,000 troops out of Germany and threatened deeper cuts in Spain and Italy as NATO allies brace for a new era.

Trump pressures NATO allies to boost defense spending as experts describe a decades-long commitment gap between political promises and military capability.

The U.S. has tens of thousands of troops in Europe, although it has previously stationed nearly 250,000 soldiers on the continent.

Poland's prime minister condemns NATO 'disintegration' as Trump says US will further reduce troop presence in Europe ・Ukraine hits 2 Russian shadow fleet vessels near Novorossiysk port ・Ukraine strikes Russian Kalibr missile carrier,

By Sabine Siebold and Andreas Rinke BERLIN, May 2 (Reuters) - A planned drawdown of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany should spur Europe to strengthen its own defences, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday,

The U.S. Army in Europe this week launched a new training program aimed at putting NATO’s defense plans into action, replacing a five-year-old focus on large-scale troop movements. U.S. Army Europe and Africa kicked off Sword 26 on Monday with drills across eight countries.