Hegseth rejects US troops and NATO membership for Ukraine
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drew firm limits on U.S. support for Ukraine in a speech to NATO allies on Wednesday, spurning its aspirations for membership in the alliance and rejecting proposals that American troops be deployed to help guarantee a ceasefire in its war with Russia.
The comments amounted to a major reorientation of U.S. policy as President Donald Trump looks for ways to bring the war in Ukraine to an end. Hegseth made clear that Trump will demand more concessions from Ukraine than his predecessor Joe Biden had laid out.
Hegseth said Ukraine’s desire for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization isn’t a realistic outcome and that any demands to return Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders, before Russia’s invasion of Crimea, is an “illusionary goal.” While saying the U.S. remains committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and to NATO, he challenged European nations to “step into the arena” and take more responsibility for the continent’s security.
“Safeguarding European security must be an imperative for European members of NATO,” Hegseth said. “As part of this, Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine.”
The speech at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contract Group in Brussels reorients allied strategy as Trump prepares for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government to end the war. Trump’s envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is set to present Trump with options to end the war in the coming weeks.
It will also pose a challenge to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has said that he sees a U.S. role as essential for any security guarantees in a settlement.
Zelenskyy has insisted that eventual membership in NATO must remain a recognized goal, a position he reaffirmed Wednesday after meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent visited Ukraine as part of the Trump administration’s effort to resolve the war while also pressing Ukraine to give the U.S. secure access to critical minerals.
Hegseth’s speech drew immediate fire from supporters of Biden’s policy, who argued that it weakened the U.S. hand before negotiations with Russia have even begun by taking potential points of leverage off the table.
“This is a complete capitulation to Putin,” Alexander Vindman, the former national security official who played a key role in Trump’s first impeachment, said on X. “This will embolden Putin and undermine the interests of peace in Ukraine and Europe.”
Asked about Hegseth’s comments, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Brussels that “Ukrainians are busy defending their sovereignty, their democracy, they’re busy standing up for the rule of law as it applies in all of our democracies. Ukrainians get to decide what the outcome of that peace process must be.”
It was a reaffirmation of a slogan voiced frequently by Antony Blinken, Biden’s secretary of state: “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
European NATO members have been trying to demonstrate to the Trump administration the full scope of their financial support for Ukraine ahead of meeting Hegseth.
The U.K. is hosting Wednesday’s Ukraine meeting in Brussels, taking over from the U.S., which hosted Ukraine Defense Contact Group meetings in Ramstein, Germany, under the Biden administration. Hegseth is also attending a full meeting of the NATO alliance’s defense ministers on Thursday. Hegseth met his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, earlier Wednesday.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte touted a 20% increase in defense spending from non-U.S. NATO allies last year, compared with 2023. He told reporters Wednesday that these non-U.S. allies gave more than half of some €50 billion ($51.9 billion) in aid delivered to Ukraine last year.
Hegseth also said that there are areas where the U.S. and European allies could work together to put more pressure on Russia to negotiate.
“Lower energy prices coupled with more effective enforcement of energy sanctions will help bring Russia to the table,” he said.