The United States has informed its Nato allies that it will scale back its troop presence along Europe’s eastern border with Ukraine as it focuses on security priorities elsewhere in the world, Romania’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

The US Army later confirmed the move, but denied it was a sign of lessened commitment to Nato.

Depending on operations and exercises, around 80,000-100,000 US troops are usually present on European soil. Nato allies have expressed concern that the Trump administration might drastically cut their numbers and leave a security vacuum as European countries confront an increasingly aggressive Russia.

The administration has been reviewing its military “posture” in Europe and elsewhere, but US officials have said that the findings of the review were not expected to be known before early next year.

Nato has recently been bulking up its defensive posture on its eastern flank bordering Belarus, Russia and Ukraine after a series of airspace violations by drones, balloons and Russian aircraft.

European build-up