KFOR's presence in Kosovo is shrinking, NATO decided after US warned revision

A few days ago, on the 27th anniversary of its troop entry into Kosovo after the air campaign on Serbian targets, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) estimated that “sthe security situation in Kosovo remained generally stable” and warned of reducing the number of troops of the peacekeeping mission, KFOR.

Chief NATO, Mark Rutte today, spoke more specifically about this, naming this decision as “good news” for the small Balkan country.

KFOR, who is the third security reacter in Kosovo, after the Kosovo Police and the European Union Law Mission for Ending, E ULEX, and which has security responsibility along Serbia's border, will have as many as 3,500 troops. Currently, this mission consists of over 4,657 troops from 31 countries.

At this moment, you see that KFOR has about 4,700 soldiers. What we're going to do is we're going back to the first 2023 levels. Of course, depending on the circumstances, you will see a KFOR of between 3,000 and 3,500 troops. And, I think given the improvement of the situation, KFOR will continue to be focused on its core” mission, the chief said NATO during a media conference in Brussels, answering a question on the issue.

According to Rutte, this troop reduction comes after the improved security situation in Kosovo.

“NATO in January ended the deployment of the reserve forces in KFOR. That was two years after the constant rotation. At the same time, we are constantly looking for the best positioning of KFOR for the future”, he said.

News from Brussels comes after months of reporting and discussions on the possibility that the US will reconsider the presence of American troops in NATO missions, including KFOR.

From the US, then, news came that there is expected to be changes in the American contribution to KFOR and an official of the United States European Command (EUCOM) told Radio Free Europe a few days ago that the decision was based on the annual revision made by the Supreme Allied Forces Command in Europe (SHAPE), which has recommended adapting troops to the ground. The US is second in the highest number of troops in Kosovo, with about 590 peacekeepers.

“Based on the latest annual revision of the Allied Supreme Command in Europe, NATO will optimise the deployment of the Kosovo Force (KFOR). As a result, the US European Command will make an adjustment in phases and based on the risk assessment of the American contribution to KFOR, in line with this US-led review”, he said.

Now, the number of KFOR troops in Kosovo is expected to return to its first levels in 2023, the year when, due to tensions in northern Kosovo, NATO had deployed nearly 1,000 additional troops in the country.

Peacekeeping Mission NATO in Kosovo was deployed in 1999, with nearly 50,000 troops deployed that year. Since then, the U.S. also built Camp Bondsteel near Ferizaj ʹ the largest American military base in the Balkans.

The total number of American forces in Europe has fluctuated between 75 thousand and 105 thousand since 2022, according to the US European Command, about 63 thousand permanently deployed troops.

From Germany, where the largest number of American troops is located (over 35 thousand), the US announced at the beginning of this month the withdrawal of about 5 thousand troops within 6-12 months.