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US to review benefits of having troops in Europe with ‘era of free-riding’ over – Europe live | World news
US to conduct a review of forces in Europe
Hegseth says the US will be “doubling down” on its efforts to get allies to spend what they need to spend.
He says his department will conduct a six-month review of US forces in Europe.
He says it will look at actual benefits of having US military in Europe – and will be a real review.
“It will be designed to ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe.”
He then goes further to say that the US dues to the Nato budget will be contingent on other countries meeting their defence spending targets.
“Where other allies do not spend with urgency, our dues, contributions will go down. Nato will be a two-way street.”
He adds:
“America cannot care for or pay more for Europe’s defence than our allies do.”
Key events
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US defence secretary urges UK to spend more on defence, ‘step up and do even more’
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US force review will ‘change how we look at continent,’ Hegseth says
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Russian oil refinery on fire after barrage of Ukrainian drones strike Moscow
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Trump was ‘pumped with’ harmful ideas during G7 summit, Kremlin says
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Nato agrees to modernise nuclear capabilities, strengthen planning
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Hegseth’s frustration is not new, but still striking – snap analysis
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‘Our direction of travel is and has been clear,’ Hegseth tells Nato
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Some Nato countries ‘will fail’ US posture review, Hegseth says
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US to conduct a review of forces in Europe
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Hegseth says ‘era of free riding’ is over
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Nato allies refusal to help on Iran ‘shameful,’ Hegseth says
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US ‘gave allies test to support America … and too many failed it,’ Hegseth says
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‘There have been real setbacks we cannot ignore,’ Hegseth tells Nato
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‘Europe was not supposed to be a dependency of the US,’ Hegseth tells Nato
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‘Nato has been a paper tiger and a one-way street,’ US Hegseth tells Nato ministers
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Morning opening: Ukraine hits Moscow oil refinery, disrupts flights in retaliation attack as Nato, EU leaders meet for talks
US defence secretary urges UK to spend more on defence, ‘step up and do even more’
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has also offered his view on the relationship with the UK, after meeting Britain’s new defence minister Dan Jarvis.
His predecessor resigned in protest against low government spending on defence.
Hegseth said it was “a good meeting,” stressing that “the US-British defence alliance is an important one.”
He praised Jarvis for having first-hand experience of serving in a combat zone.
But he said “the message was the same: hey, we need you guys to step up and do even more, spend even more.”
He added:
“If we need access and basing, whether it’s in the UK or say at Diego Garcia, we can’t live in a world where other countries are standing at the end of a runway with a clipboard trying to decide what flies and what doesn’t. It’s not gonna, it’s not gonna work for us. It’s not good in contingencies, and I don’t think it’s what he wants either.”
He continued saying that “the more the UK spends on defence, the stronger Nato is going to be, the stronger western civilization is, and that’s a good thing.”
“I think [it was] a good start to a relationship that we need to renew even more,” Hegseth said.
US force review will ‘change how we look at continent,’ Hegseth says
We are now again hearing from US defence secretary Pete Hegseth again, as he’s speaking with reporters after his explosive speech at the Nato ministerial in Brussels this morning.
Just as I argued (10:15), he tells them that the message is not new, with many countries already stepping up – but not all of them.
“We will be clear with them, and as we do this review, we’ll change how we look at the continent as a result,” he says.
Separately, speaking on Iran, he also notes that a number of European countries are “prepared to step up” to help with the strait of Hormuz.
“It’s an international water bill, and frankly, European countries and Asian countries use it a lot more than we do,” he says.
Russian oil refinery on fire after barrage of Ukrainian drones strike Moscow
Peter Beaumont in Pavlograd and Warren Murray
Ukrainian drones have hit several locations across Moscow, including setting an oil refinery on fire, sending out flames and towering plumes of smoke over the city and forcing the capital’s airports to suspend flights.
The scale of the long-range attack, apparently designed to shut down operations at the key oil refinery in the Kapotno area, caught most Muscovites by surprise in a city that does not typically warn residents with air raid alarms, and prompted panicked messages on social media.
Footage posted online showed three plumes of smoke rising from the refinery.
The strike was the second in two days on the facility, in what the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, then called “a just response to Russian strikes”.
“Air defence forces are continuing to repel a large-scale attack. Several drones managed to reach the [Moscow oil refinery],” said Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow’s mayor, adding that a shopping centre was also damaged. He claimed about 180 drones heading for the capital had been downed.
Sobyanin said emergency crews were working at the site and also reported “damage” to Sadovod shopping centre in the south-eastern part of the city. At least seven drones appear to have beaten Russia’s air defences to strike targets in the city.
Traffic was halted on Moscow’s ring road near the refinery, the broadcaster RIA cited the interior ministry as saying, while air traffic was disrupted at Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky airports.
Jakub Krupa
Let’s get a bit more on these Ukrainian drone strikes on Moscow.
Trump was ‘pumped with’ harmful ideas during G7 summit, Kremlin says
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has offered its take on yesterday’s G7 summit – including a supportive statement on Ukraine (Europe Live, Wednesday) – saying that the US president, Donald Trump, was “pumped with” harmful ideas by the EU.
The US had no contacts with Moscow after the meeting, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov was quoted by Interfax and Reuters as saying.
Ushakov also disputed the EU’s assumption that the battlefield situation was changing in Ukraine’s favour.
Nato agrees to modernise nuclear capabilities, strengthen planning
Separately, Nato has agreed to modernise its nuclear capabilities and strengthen its nuclear planning capacity, the alliance’s senior body for nuclear deterrence said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
All Nato allies except France are members of the Nuclear Planning Group, which serves as a forum for consultation and decision-making on nuclear deterrence.
Defence ministers taking part in the meeting “recalled that the strategic nuclear forces of the Alliance remain the supreme guarantee of Allied security and underpin Nato’s extended deterrence architecture,” the statement said.
Hegseth’s frustration is not new, but still striking – snap analysis
Jakub Krupa
None of this is really new new – Hegseth largely repeats the US’s main frustrations and grievances with the alliance, repeatedly expressed by Trump – but the tone of the delivery is still very, very striking.
Hegseth has laid into Nato allies for not helping enough with bases and overflights during its early Iran operations – and once he did not name any countries, it’s likely targeted at the likes of Spain, Italy, Portugal.
In other parts, it is just a broader criticism of what the US sees as “free riding” from the allies, as they do not move quickly enough on spending.
Coming just weeks before the Nato summit in Ankara, it is clearly intented to serve as a warning to several of the allies that still don’t spend enough and don’t seem to act with the urgency the US is expecting them to increase that spending – or even offer a credible path towards it.
The proposed posture review – and explicit threat that some of them will fail it – and the suggestion the US could reduce its contributions if others do not pay enough, will make some think twice about their plans in the next few weeks.
As Hegseth ends his remarks, Rutte says “there’s much to discuss and decide today.”
You bet it’s going to be lively.
‘Our direction of travel is and has been clear,’ Hegseth tells Nato
Hegseth says “our direction of travel is and has been clear.”
“This is the right thing to do by the American people. It’s the right thing to do by this alliance.
Europe can and must take primary responsibility for its conventional defence as it pledged at The Hague Summit, and in the process safeguarding Europe’s defence for generations to come, we know our allies can do it, and it’s time.”
Some Nato countries ‘will fail’ US posture review, Hegseth says
Hegseth makes it clear that the review will not be just a box-ticking exercise.
“It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colours. In the end, the review is intended to both improve US force posture and basing and strengthen Nato 3.0.”
US to conduct a review of forces in Europe
Hegseth says the US will be “doubling down” on its efforts to get allies to spend what they need to spend.
He says his department will conduct a six-month review of US forces in Europe.
He says it will look at actual benefits of having US military in Europe – and will be a real review.
“It will be designed to ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe.”
He then goes further to say that the US dues to the Nato budget will be contingent on other countries meeting their defence spending targets.
“Where other allies do not spend with urgency, our dues, contributions will go down. Nato will be a two-way street.”
He adds:
“America cannot care for or pay more for Europe’s defence than our allies do.”
Hegseth says ‘era of free riding’ is over
Hegseth says that “some of Nato’s largest economies, some of our richest countries, allies that are happiest to go on about the rules-based international order and middle powers banding together still think the era of free riding is here.”
He says Trump disagrees.
“This is not what any reasonable person would expect, and it’s not going to cut it any more.”
(He may be thinking of, among others, Spain, which has long been the target of US criticism, and has clashed with it in recent months.)
Nato allies refusal to help on Iran ‘shameful,’ Hegseth says
Hegseth makes it very clear how the US is annoyed about the perceived lack of support on Iran.
“The United States has defended Europe for generations, and the President said all he said was that our jets would need to take off from bases in Europe or our ships from ports to strike targets in the Middle East, Iranian targets that threaten European interests even more directly than they threaten us.
But too many of our allies said no, or tried to drown us in arcane legal debates, or criticised us publicly for doing what they aren’t prepared or able to do themselves. It was shameful.
These allies, they put America’s sons and daughters, our sons and daughters, at risk by denying them the predictable access facing an overflight that never should have been in question at all.”
US ‘gave allies test to support America … and too many failed it,’ Hegseth says
Hegseth now goes hard on some Nato countries that are still paying below the expected levels.
He says “for all of our clarity, too many allied capitals seem to still miss something in translation” and “too many allies still do not recognise the historic need … to forge a relevant, powerful military alliance.”
He says the US “gave our allies a test to support America when we asked for their help and too many failed it.”
‘There have been real setbacks we cannot ignore,’ Hegseth tells Nato
Hegseth says that Trump is clear about his intention to increase defence spending so the US leads and shows others “it’s not do as I say, it’s do as we do.”
He says he believes the US approach has been validated on Ukraine, with allies taking more responsibility for Ukraine’s defence – and this approach actually yielding positive results.
“It is happening, and it’s a validation of President Trump’s approach, an approach that will set the table for peace.”
But he says that “for all these early steps in the right direction, there have also been real setbacks that we cannot ignore.”
Hegseth continues by saying that Nato 2.0 was “an era of distraction, de-industrialisation and demilitarisation,” with “an era of free riding.”
“Those were lost years that we are not going back to.”
He says that’s why his department is “so clear and so candid” about the need to “restore Nato’s core military role and character” and why it’s returned US troop levels to pre-2022.
He says the alliance needs to return to its roots to be as strong as required and “if need be, make good on Article Five.”
He says some countries “got the message and stepped up,” but others are still failing.
‘Europe was not supposed to be a dependency of the US,’ Hegseth tells Nato
Hegseth seems to praise spending commitments adopted at last year’s Nato summit in The Hague, saying they were “all about transforming Nato back into a real military alliance that is focused on hard power and real deterrence.”
But in another eye-catching quote, he goes on to say:
“Europe was not supposed to be a dependency of the United States. That’s not what Winston Churchill or Charles de Gaulle or Konrad Adenauer wanted or expected. No, Europe was supposed to be a military power, allied with a strong America.”
He goes back in Nato history to 1951, quoting Eisehower comments that “if in 10 years all American troops stationed in Europe for national defence purposes have not been returned to the US, then this whole process will have failed.”
But he says that Nato 2.0 in the following decades increasingly focused on “gender equality and climate change” instead of “tanks and fighters and air defences.”
“Europe’s borders flew wide open, welfare states expanded, defence budgets cratered, along with Europe’s belief in itself and its civilization. Nato lost its way.”
Ouch, again.
‘Nato has been a paper tiger and a one-way street,’ US Hegseth tells Nato ministers
US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth has asked to speak at the beginning of the Nato ministerial in Brussels, and it very much looks like his comments will set the tone for the day.
He begins by saying that Trump “has said again and again … our allies must step up.”
“Nato has been a paper tiger and a one-way street. No more.”
Ouch.
Morning opening: Ukraine hits Moscow oil refinery, disrupts flights in retaliation attack as Nato, EU leaders meet for talks
Jakub Krupa
Ukraine hit an oil refinery near Moscow and other targets in Russia overnight in what president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called “a justified response” to recent strikes on Ukraine.
Russian officials were quoted as saying that the attack forced commercial flights and airports to be suspended for safety reasons and caused a temporary halt on Moscow’s ring road, after some 180 drones were shot down over the Russian capital.
“This is a fully justified response to Russian attacks on our cities and communities, and another important result of our warriors’ work against facilities that sustain Russia’s war machine,” Zelenskyy said.
The strikes come on the day of a Nato ministerial meeting in Brussels, the last before next month’s summit in Ankara.
Nato allies are expected to discuss the latest on their defence spending plans, with the US pressing Europe to take more responsibility for the defence of the continent.
Later on, the ministers will also take part in the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting, a key forum to coordinate on support for Ukraine, which is expected to be attended by Zelenskyy.
The main event comes fairly late in the day, as EU leaders are expected to gather for the European Council meeting on Ukraine and the Middle East. It’s a two-day summit, likely to go late into the night.
Lots for us to cover.
It’s Thursday, 18 June 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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