U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the war between Ukraine and Russia “must end,” that Kyiv joining NATO is unrealistic and that the U.S. will no longer prioritize European and Ukrainian security as the Trump administration shifts its attention to securing the U.S.’ own borders and deterring war with China.In remarks before a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Hegseth also said that European troops should be the primary force securing a post-war Ukraine—something U.S. troops will not be involved in, he added.“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said. And he added that any security guarantees offered to Ukraine “must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.”“To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine,” he said.Hegseth also said that a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders, before Russia invaded Crimea and eastern Ukraine, “is an unrealistic objective.”The comments are sure to concern Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said this week that Europe alone cannot provide meaningful security guarantees to Ukraine without American leadership.Hegseth also did not announce any new U.S. aid to Ukraine. “We’re also here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe,” he said.Hegseth’s comments did not necessarily come as a surprise to the U.S.’ allies. NATO and the European Union had been bracing for the U.S. to step back significantly from the leading role it had been playing since 2022 in providing and coordinating military aid to Ukraine. That is why NATO set up its own security mechanism to help coordinate military assistance to the country.“We hear your concerns on stepping up for Ukraine, and we hear your concerns on stepping up for European security,” UK Defense Secretary John Healey said in response.And NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said earlier on Wednesday that he “agrees” with Trump “that we must equalize security assistance to Ukraine. But to really change the trajectory of the conflict, we need to do even more.”But the U.S. defense secretary’s comments were the clearest articulation yet of how the Trump administration intends to try to decouple itself from Europe and make the Ukraine conflict a fully European problem. It’s a stark departure from the approach of the Biden administration, which made the transatlantic alliance and support for Ukraine the centerpiece of its foreign policy.Hegseth also echoed calls by President Donald Trump for allies to increase their defense spending to 5% of their GDP, instead of 2%, saying the latter is “not enough.”Toward the end of his remarks, Hegseth emphasized that the U.S. “remains committed to the NATO alliance and to the defense partnership with Europe. Full stop. But the United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the war between Ukraine and Russia “must end,” that Kyiv joining NATO is unrealistic and that the U.S. will no longer prioritize European and Ukrainian security as the Trump administration shifts its attention to securing the U.S.’ own borders and deterring war with China.
In remarks before a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Hegseth also said that European troops should be the primary force securing a post-war Ukraine—something U.S. troops will not be involved in, he added.
“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said. And he added that any security guarantees offered to Ukraine “must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.”
“To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine,” he said.
Hegseth also said that a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders, before Russia invaded Crimea and eastern Ukraine, “is an unrealistic objective.”
The comments are sure to concern Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said this week that Europe alone cannot provide meaningful security guarantees to Ukraine without American leadership.
Hegseth also did not announce any new U.S. aid to Ukraine. “We’re also here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe,” he said.
Hegseth’s comments did not necessarily come as a surprise to the U.S.’ allies. NATO and the European Union had been bracing for the U.S. to step back significantly from the leading role it had been playing since 2022 in providing and coordinating military aid to Ukraine. That is why NATO set up its own security mechanism to help coordinate military assistance to the country.
“We hear your concerns on stepping up for Ukraine, and we hear your concerns on stepping up for European security,” UK Defense Secretary John Healey said in response.
And NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said earlier on Wednesday that he “agrees” with Trump “that we must equalize security assistance to Ukraine. But to really change the trajectory of the conflict, we need to do even more.”
But the U.S. defense secretary’s comments were the clearest articulation yet of how the Trump administration intends to try to decouple itself from Europe and make the Ukraine conflict a fully European problem. It’s a stark departure from the approach of the Biden administration, which made the transatlantic alliance and support for Ukraine the centerpiece of its foreign policy.
Hegseth also echoed calls by President Donald Trump for allies to increase their defense spending to 5% of their GDP, instead of 2%, saying the latter is “not enough.”
Toward the end of his remarks, Hegseth emphasized that the U.S. “remains committed to the NATO alliance and to the defense partnership with Europe. Full stop. But the United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency.”
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