BRUSSELS In broad statements, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated Wednesday that Ukraine could never join NATO and that Kyiv should give up on regaining all of its land from Russia in favor of a negotiated peace agreement supported by foreign forces.
President Donald Trump said hours later that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had reached an agreement to start talks on resolving the conflict in Ukraine. The Republican revealed a phone conversation between the two leaders and stated that they will collaborate closely in a social media post.
“Trump is determined to get Europe to assume most of the financial and military responsibilities for the defense of Ukraine, including a possible peacekeeping force that would not include U.S. troops,” Hegseth said in an address to allies eager to learn how much more support Washington plans to provide to the Ukrainian government.
During the first visit to NATO by a member of the Trump administration, the defense secretary also stated that the force should not be granted Article 5 protections, which would compel the United States or the other 31 NATO members to support those forces in the event that they come into contact with Russian forces.
The closest glimpse yet of how the administration would attempt to end the war was provided by Hegseth’s stern warning and his insistence that Russia retain some of the area that Ukraine wants back.
The secretary’s remarks were also likely to undermine Ukraine’s aspirations to rebuild itself and to make negotiations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Vice President JD Vance and other high-ranking American officials more difficult later this week at a significant security conference in Munich.
As Kyiv’s supporters assembled at NATO headquarters for a conference to amass more weapons and ammunition for the war, which will shortly enter its fourth year, Hegseth stated that the United States does not think that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic conclusion of a negotiated settlement.
For a nation to join NATO, all 32 partners must consent, which means that each member has a veto.
Rather, competent European and non-European forces must provide any security assurance, Hegseth stated. To be clear, U.S. forces will not be sent to Ukraine as part of any security assurance.
Hegseth maintained that the provision in the founding treaty of NATO that requires all allies to defend any member under attack should not apply to any peacekeeping forces and that NATO should not be involved in any future military operation to maintain peace in Ukraine.
The only time Article 5 has been employed was when Canada and its European allies used the collective security guarantee to support the United States following the al-Qaida attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.
Hegseth added that the majority of future deadly and nonlethal aid to Ukraine must come from Europe. Currently, around 30% of Ukraine’s defense needs are met by the United States and Europe. Ukraine itself produces the remainder.
He also urged Ukraine’s Western supporters to give up the illusory objective of restoring Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders, prior to Russia annexing the Crimean Peninsula and seizing portions of eastern Ukraine, in an interview with Ukraine’s allies known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
Hegseth told the roughly 50 nations that had supported Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 that members of this contact group must come together at this time.
Following the meeting, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey told reporters that Hegseth’s remarks would not be ignored.
He called on European countries to take action, and we heard it. He declared, “We are and we will.”
Healey emphasized that NATO is where Ukraine belongs. It will take some time to complete that process.
Additionally, he declared that Britain would give Ukraine a new weaponry package worth $187 million, which would include air defense systems, tanks, and drones.
Together, those 50 nations have given Ukraine more than $126 billion in military aid and equipment over the course of almost three years, with the United States, the group’s chair since its founding, contributing more than $66.5 billion.
Hegseth’s visit takes place less than two weeks before February 24, 2022, the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The majority of U.S. allies worry that if Putin prevails, he won’t stop at Ukraine’s borders and that their security is in danger from Europe’s largest land battle in decades.
Trump has pledged to bring the battle to a swift conclusion. He said that it is too expensive for American taxpayers and proposed that Ukraine use its oil, rare earth minerals, and other resources to pay for U.S. assistance.
In his speech, Hegseth stated that NATO members must also drastically raise defense spending to 5% of their budgets, a level that the United States currently does not reach.
An unbalanced connection that promotes dependence will no longer be accepted by the US. Instead, our partnership will focus on giving Europe the authority to take charge of its own security, Hegseth stated.
Since Putin ordered his forces into Ukraine, European allies have increased their military budgets. Of these, 23 are thought to have met or surpassed last year’s goal of allocating 2% of GDP, while a third still fall short.
Some friends of the United States are concerned that a hurried agreement could be reached on terms that are unfavorable to Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told The Associated Press prior to Hegseth’s remarks that Putin will only engage in peace negotiations with Ukraine if its supporters continue to supply adequate arms and ammunition.
Rutte stated, “We must make sure he has no other choice, which means forcing him to the table.” He must realize that we will not abandon Ukraine. We must ensure that our economic impact on Russia is as great as possible.
Hegseth’s comments were made the day after Marc Vogel, an American history teacher, returned to the United States without incident following three years in a Russian prison. According to the White House, his release could facilitate the advancement of war-ending discussions.
Trump did not specify who or from what nation he stated another American, someone very important, would be released on Wednesday.
–The Associated Press/Tara Copp and Lorne Cook
