LONDON and THE PENTAGON — Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared at his first assembly of the Ukraine Protection Contact Group on Wednesday to inform allies that the liberation of all Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory “is an unrealistic goal.”
“The bloodshed should cease and this battle should finish,” Hegseth stated, in one of the vital detailed delineations of the Ukraine-Russia peace deal envisioned by President Donald Trump’s new administration.
“President Trump has been clear with the American individuals — and with lots of your leaders — that stopping the preventing and reaching an everlasting peace is a high precedence,” Hegseth stated on the assembly, which was led by the U.Ok., marking the primary time the group has not convened below U.S. management.
“He intends to finish this battle by diplomacy and bringing each Russia and Ukraine to the desk,” Hegseth stated. “We’ll solely finish this devastating battle and set up a sturdy peace by coupling allied power with a practical evaluation of the battlefield.”
Ukrainian servicemen experience atop a T-72 tank at an undisclosed location in Kharkiv area on Feb. 10, 2025.
Sergey Bobok/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his authorities in Kyiv have demanded full territorial liberation — whether or not by navy or diplomatic means — per the nation’s internationally-recognized 1991 borders. Amongst Ukraine’s different calls for are binding Western safety ensures, ideally within the type of full NATO membership and Article 5 safety.
Hegseth rejected such ambitions, not less than within the close to time period.
“We wish, such as you, a sovereign and affluent Ukraine, however we should begin by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic goal,” he informed allies. “Chasing this illusionary aim will solely delay the battle and trigger extra struggling.”
“The United States doesn’t imagine that NATO membership for Ukraine is a practical consequence of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth continued. “As a substitute, any safety assure should be backed by succesful European and non-European troops.”
“If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any level, they need to be deployed as a part of a non-NATO mission they usually shouldn’t be coated below Article 5,” he added. “There additionally should be strong worldwide oversight of the road of contact.”
“To be clear, as a part of any safety assure, there won’t be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine,” Hegseth stated.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to finish the battle by forcing each Moscow and Kyiv again to the negotiating desk after almost three years of full-scale battle.
Hegseth recommended that Trump’s home vitality insurance policies would assist strain the Kremlin. “Decrease vitality costs coupled with simpler enforcement of vitality sanctions will assist convey Russia to the desk,” he stated.
Hegseth delivered a broader warning to European allies of a lighter U.S. footprint on the continent. They, he stated, might want to “present the overwhelming share of future deadly and non-lethal support to Ukraine.”
He stated the “stark strategic realities” of competitors with China within the Indo-Pacific and the U.S. concentrate on securing its home borders “forestall america of America from being primarily targeted on the safety of Europe.”
On this handout {photograph} taken and launched by the Ministry of Protection of Ukraine on Feb. 12, 2025, Ukraine’s Protection Minister Rustem Umerov (L) and US Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) pose for a photograph previous to their talks throughout the Ukraine Protection Contact Group assembly in Brussels.
Ministry of Protection of Ukraine/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
Hegseth referred to as on allies to donate extra ammunition and tools to Ukraine, develop their industrial bases and clarify to residents that the Russian menace necessitates “spending extra on protection and investing strategically.”
That may embrace rising protection spending past the two% of GDP goal agreed by allies in 2014. The edge — which many NATO allies have nonetheless not achieved — “isn’t sufficient,” Hegseth stated.
“President Trump has referred to as for five% and I agree,” he added. “Rising your dedication to your individual safety is a down fee for the longer term.”
The protection secretary warned that whereas the U.S. “stays dedicated to the NATO alliance and to partnership with Europe,” America “will now not tolerate an imbalanced relationship which inspires dependency.”
“Relatively, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to personal accountability for its personal safety,” he added. “Honesty will probably be our coverage going ahead.”
In response to Hegseth’s remarks, British Protection Secretary John Healey stated, “We hear you.”
“We hear your dedication to NATO, to Article 5, to a sovereign Ukraine and to your protection partnership with Europe,” Healey stated. “We additionally hear your issues.”
“On stepping up for Ukraine, we’re and we’ll,” Healey continued. “On stepping up for European safety, we’re and we’ll.”
“You’ve got simply spoken about peace by means of power,” Healey stated. “We’re 50 nations sturdy right here, all decided to place an finish to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s battle, to take action collectively.”
