The Pentagon’s policy chief, Elbridge Colby, has told European Nato defence ministers in Brussels that they need to step up their combat capabilities and take the lead in protecting their continent from the Russian threat. Colby’s comments were made behind closed doors in a short speech to Nato’s 31 other members, at the start of a meeting of alliance defence ministers in Brussels. The undersecretary is one of the most vocal proponents in the Trump administration of shifting US military attention away from Europe. In December, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, skipped a meeting of Nato foreign ministers and sent the deputy secretary Christopher Landau instead. Ukraine’s allies committed $35bn in military aid this year following the Nato defence ministers meeting, according to UK defence secretary John Healey.

Source: The Guardian February 12, 2026 19:38 UTC