The troop decision, which reduces levels to what they were before the Ukraine war, came after Merz said President Donald Trump had “humiliated” himself with the Iran war. The Pentagon has not yet released the plan for those troops, two American defense officials said, and whether they might deploy elsewhere in Europe.

The U.S. may worry about Moscow, but Germany and the rest of Europe must contend with an all-out war between Russia and Ukraine on their doorstep.

Russian forces have long deployed nuclear capable Iskander missiles to the Kaliningrad exclave between Poland and Lithuania. They also have placed medium-range Oreshnik missiles in Belarus, which can reach all of Europe in a matter of minutes. Eastern and Central Europe officials have eyed the moves warily, as they are still working on fielding their own comparable systems.

“We submitted an official request to the Americans a year and a half ago to import — that is, to purchase — Tomahawk missiles,” German defense minister Boris Pistorius told German public television last month. “We are still awaiting a response. But to be honest, given the current state of the world, I don’t have much hope in that regard.”

Pistorius expressed interest in buying America’s Typhon ground-based missile system, which launches Tomahawks, on a Washington visit last July with Hegseth, according to the Germany defense ministry. But he has not received an update.

German officials have been exploring European alternatives to fill the long-range precision-strike gap. The debate in Berlin is less about any single weapons system than about how quickly Germany can acquire the ability to hold targets at a distance — whether through off-the-shelf purchases, expanded production with allies or longer-term European development.

Drones and cheaper systems may help, but German defense planners do not see them as a one-for-one replacement for Tomahawk-class missiles. German officials are worried more broadly that the U.S. pullback will force Europe to close military gaps faster than its defense industry can deliver.

Stefanie Bolzen is a reporter for WELT, a publication owned by Axel Springer, POLITICO’s parent company.

The Axel Springer Global Reporters Network harnesses the resources of the company’s newsrooms to publish ambitious scoops, investigations, interviews, opinion pieces and analysis. It allows journalists — including those from POLITICO, Business Insider, WELT, BILD, Onet and Fakt — to collaborate on major stories for an international audience of hundreds of millions across platforms: online, print, TV and audio.