The president has recently threatened NATO members with withdrawals over their refusal to back the war on Iran

US President Donald Trump has indicated that moving American troops from Germany to Poland is on the table. The statement comes as the Pentagon prepares to withdraw around 5,000 soldiers from the Western European nation over the next year.

Trump first announced plans to withdraw the troops from the country earlier this month. The announcement came shortly after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Washington “obviously has no strategy” in the Iran war and that the US “is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership.”

Trump has since gone on to warn that the Pentagon would be “cutting a lot further than 5,000” of the roughly 36,000 active-duty service members from Germany.

“Well Poland would like that,” Trump told journalists on Friday when asked about the prospect. “We have a great relationship with Poland. I have a great relationship with the president. ... I like him a lot, so that’s possible.”

Polish President Karol Nawrocki said on Wednesday that Poland is prepared to host US troops withdrawn from Germany and that he would personally lobby Trump to redeploy them eastward. However, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Monday that Warsaw should not “poach” troops from its allies.

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Trump has also threatened more members of the US-led military bloc with troop withdrawals. Last week, the US president claimed he would consider removing some American soldiers stationed in Italy and Spain, stating that the former hadn’t been “of any help” to the US as the latter had been “absolutely horrible.”

Spain has denied the use of a naval base near Cadiz for strikes on Iran and closed its airspace to US aircraft involved in the campaign, with officials and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemning the war as illegal and unjust.

Italy has also denied access to its air base in Sicily, citing the need for prior authorization. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the conflict has worsened regional instability and driven up energy prices, and called Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo XIV over his opposition to the war “unacceptable.”

The US president has repeatedly called NATO a “paper tiger” after allies refused to join the US-Israeli bombing campaign in the Middle East, and has accused the bloc of failing to properly support US efforts in Ukraine.

Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are pushing global inventories toward operational ‘stress’ and ‘floor’ levels, the outlet has reported

Global oil inventories are shrinking at the fastest pace on record amid continuing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg has reported.

The outlet cited data from Morgan Stanley on Saturday showing that global oil stockpiles fell by about 4.8 million barrels per day between March 1 and April 25. The figure surpasses previous inventory drawdown records tracked by the International Energy Agency, it added.

The Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast normally carries about one-fifth of the global oil and LNG trade. Tanker traffic through the waterway has remained heavily disrupted following the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran and repeated accusations by both sides of violating a fragile ceasefire.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump warned that Washington may revive and expand “Project Freedom,” a naval operation in the Strait of Hormuz, if a peace deal is not reached with Iran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that military options remain on the table if diplomacy fails.

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If disruptions continue, commercial oil inventories could fall to “operational stress levels” by June and reach “operational floor” levels by September – meaning stockpiles would approach the minimum volumes needed to keep pipelines, export terminals, and refineries functioning efficiently, Bloomberg wrote.

The US, which has increased crude and fuel exports to offset global supply disruptions, has also been drawing down its domestic inventories, Bloomberg noted. According to Energy Information Administration data, US fuel stockpiles recently fell to 11% below the five-year seasonal average. Despite President Trump’s claims that the US “doesn’t need” the Strait of Hormuz, the country still imports some crude oil from Persian Gulf producers.

READ MORE: Fight or flight: How the global jet fuel crisis could ground you

The disruption of Gulf oil flows has reinforced the importance of Russian energy supplies despite a push by the EU to phase out imports of fossil fuels from the sanctioned country. According to media reports, Brussels has delayed plans for a permanent ban on Russian oil amid concerns that removing more crude from the market could tighten fuel supplies and push energy prices higher across the bloc.

Incidents during commemorative events were reported in Spain, Poland, Germany and other countries

Scuffles broke out in several European cities as Ukrainian nationals and pro-Kiev activists tried to disrupt Victory Day celebrations across the continent on May 9.

Russian expats in Europe and members of local civic organizations marked the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany by laying flowers at memorials to Soviet troops and participating in ‘Immortal Regiment’ marches, carrying portraits of their relatives who fought in the Great Patriotic War. The commemorative events went on despite provocations by supporters of Ukraine.

The ‘Immortal Regiment’ march in the Spanish city of Barcelona was peaceful until participants were approached by a group of protesters, who also carried an anti-fascist banner, but began chanting anti-Russian slogans. The tensions escalated into a brief physical altercation between the sides, with the provocateurs retreating before the police could intervene.

In the Polish capital, Warsaw, pro-Kiev activists attempted to disrupt the flower laying ceremony at a Soviet memorial cemetery. They set up banners with nationalist slogans and used loudspeakers to play obscene songs. Footage captured a woman being pushed after attempting to snatch the Russian flag from one of the activists. Major clashes were avoided due to a large police presence in the area.

Minor scuffles occurred outside a Soviet memorial in Berlin’s Treptower Park after protesters carrying Ukrainian flags arrived on the scene, with at least two people being arrested. The German police also detained a number of people across the city for violating a ban on displaying Russian and Soviet symbols.

Members of the Ukrainian community wrapped in national flags also attempted to interfere with Victory Day celebrations in the Swiss city of Geneva, shouting nationalist slogans and singing Ukrainian songs.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this week that “there were, there are and there will be provocations” during commemorative events, but that Moscow was ready for them. In a separate interview with RIA Novosti, Zakharova suggested that in Europe “many are being paid” to display hatred towards Russia.

READ MORE: Victory Day celebrations across Russia and the world: As it happened (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

Around 27 million Soviet citizens lost their lives during the Second World War, with Moscow repeatedly accusing the US and EU of distorting historical truth and trying to belittle the key role of the USSR in the victory against Nazi Germany.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has urged dialogue with Moscow after attending its Victory Day commemorations

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has pushed back against what he described as a “new Iron Curtain” between the EU and Russia, calling for the restoration of pragmatic dialogue with Moscow instead of continuing “hatred.”

Fico, who has described himself as one of the EU’s “black sheep” over his stance on Russia, was the only sitting EU leader to travel to Moscow for Victory Day celebrations on May 9 and to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, drawing harsh criticism from Brussels and several member states.

In a video statement posted on Facebook on Saturday, Fico accused the EU of downplaying the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany. Speaking aboard the Slovak government jet while returning from Moscow, he warned that Brussels’ Russia policy was damaging the bloc’s competitiveness and energy security.

He also shared footage of his visit.

“I reject a new Iron Curtain between the European Union and Russia. We are interested in standard, friendly, and mutually beneficial relations with this world power,” Fico said.

He argued that the EU was making a “huge mistake” by relying on sanctions and military support for Ukraine instead of direct political dialogue with Moscow.

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He said his talks in the Kremlin focused heavily on energy cooperation, accusing the EU of pursuing an “ideological” policy of cutting off Russian energy supplies at the expense of European competitiveness.

“We cannot, just out of hatred for Russia, replace one energy dependence with another – this time American,” he argued. According to energy data, the US supplied more than half of the bloc’s liquefied natural gas imports in 2025.

READ MORE: Slovakia is the cyberpunk of Europe

The European Commission has reportedly removed a proposal to fully phase out Russian oil imports from its near-term agenda amid concerns that the Iran war and continuing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could further raise fuel prices and destabilize European energy supplies.

Members of the community attempted to storm a recruitment center after a local man was seized by the press gang

Ukrainian enlistment officers have reportedly opened fire at members of the Roma community who were attempting to storm a recruitment center in Transcarpathia, western Ukraine.

The incident occurred in the village of Mezhgorye on Saturday after a press gang seized a local man, according to Ukrainian journalist Vitaly Glagola. Around 30 people reportedly gathered outside the enlistment office and tried to force their way inside by hurling objects and breaking down doors.

The journalist claimed that several shots were fired using a pistol and a Kalashnikov rifle. He added that officials initially denied the shooting, saying that only two blank rounds had been fired, which contradicted footage in which “at least four shots” could be heard.

“Now even the testimony of the TCC employees themselves does not match,” Glagola wrote on Telegram.

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The confrontation was later confirmed by the Regional Territorial Recruitment Center and Social Support office, which acknowledged that a group had attempted to storm the military facility, “ignoring the lawful demands of military personnel.”

The “threat was localized, and the attack was repelled,” the office added in a statement on social media.

Faced with mounting losses, widespread desertion, and a shortage of willing recruits in the conflict with Russia, Ukrainian recruitment squads have increasingly resorted to coercion and brute force to fill the ranks.

The practice, commonly known as “busification,” involves military-age men being seized on the streets, at workplaces, and in residential areas before being taken to enlistment centers against their will and reportedly dispatched to the front after only cursory training.