Host: Five thousand US troops ordered out of Germany. A tariff hike on European cars. And on the front line in Donetsk, Russian forces testing Ukraine's fortress belt. This is Europa Daily.

Host: Donald Trump has ordered the withdrawal of five thousand US troops from Germany — a redeployment the Pentagon says will take six to twelve months. The move follows a public dispute between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who criticised Washington's strategy in its war with Iran. Crucially, the drawdown scraps a Biden-era plan to deploy a US battalion armed with long-range Tomahawk missiles on German soil — a deployment Berlin had championed as a powerful deterrent against Russia. NATO says it is working with Washington to understand the details. The German government sought to play down the severity, calling the withdrawal 'anticipated' and framing it as a reminder that Europe needs to invest in its own defence. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the US decision should spur Europeans to strengthen their own capabilities. But not everyone is so sanguine. Two senior US Republicans — Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers — have voiced concern, warning the move risks undermining deterrence and sends the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin. The loss of forward-positioned US firepower matters well beyond Germany. Those troops and the scrapped Tomahawk deployment were part of NATO's broader posture along its eastern flank. And in German communities near bases like Ramstein, the reaction is more visceral. As one Guardian report put it: 'We love our Americans' — the sentiment from a town now rocked by Trump's plan.

Host: On the ground in eastern Ukraine, Russian troops are inching toward the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, trying to establish a foothold near what Ukraine calls its fortress belt — a heavily fortified defensive line. Ukraine's army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said counter-sabotage measures were underway. Battlefield mapping shows Russian forces roughly one kilometre from the city's southern outskirts. Meanwhile, advanced Ukrainian drones — dubbed 'Martian drones' — are creating what analysts describe as killing zones, complicating Russian advances and redefining how the front line operates. The human cost remains relentless. Two civilians were killed and seven wounded when a Russian drone struck a minibus in the southern city of Kherson. Hours later, another minibus was hit in the same city. In Odesa, a Russian strike damaged port infrastructure. And the war's international dimensions keep expanding. North Korea's ruling party has explicitly linked youth loyalty to Pyongyang's involvement in the conflict, telling a party congress that young soldiers sent on overseas operations had 'become bombs and flames.' An estimated fourteen thousand North Korean troops have been sent to fight alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region.

Host: As if the troop withdrawal weren't enough pressure on Berlin, Trump is also escalating on trade. He has announced that tariffs on European cars and trucks will rise to twenty-five percent — ten percentage points above the rate agreed in a trade deal last July. Trump says the EU is not complying with that deal. The automotive sector is especially important to the EU, with car manufacturing making up a significant part of Europe's economy. France 24 reports the hike could cost Germany alone eighteen billion dollars. European car production is deeply integrated — finished vehicles assembled in one country rely on component suppliers scattered across the continent. The tariff targets the EU as a bloc but lands unevenly, hitting major auto-exporting economies hardest. For the wider European industrial base, it is another jolt in a week already full of them.

Host: Finally, a story that touches something more intimate than missiles or tariffs — what parents feed their children. Austrian police have arrested a thirty-nine-year-old man for his alleged involvement in an attempt to blackmail HiPP, the German baby-food manufacturer. The case involves poisoned products and an extortion scheme that spans at least two countries. HiPP is one of Europe's best-known baby-food brands, its products widely available across the continent. The arrest required Austrian and German authorities to cooperate across their shared border. It is a sharp reminder that Europe's interconnected food market means a consumer-safety threat originating in one country can reach families everywhere the product is sold.

Host: That's Europa Daily. Washington is pulling back on two fronts — troops and trade — and the bills are landing on desks from Berlin to Bratislava to Whitehall. We'll be tracking who picks them up. See you next time.

Sources

• The Guardian Europe: Ukraine war briefing: Russia tries for a foothold in Ukraine’s eastern ‘fortress belt’, continues attacks on civilians
• BBC Europe: Germany says US troop withdrawal 'foreseeable' as Nato seeks clarification
• France 24 Europe: Ukraine battlefield: Advanced Ukrainian drones raise concerns among Russian forces
• DW World: Austria: Police arrest suspect over poisoned HiPP baby food
• The Guardian Europe: Top Republicans express concern over withdrawal of US troops from Germany – as it happened
• The Guardian Europe: Nato seeks to ‘understand the details’ of US decision to withdraw troops from Germany
• France 24 Europe: New tariff hike could cost Germany $18BN
• France 24 Europe: Berlin urges stronger European defence