U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the Trump administration does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war triggered by Russia's invasion.
Speaking at a meeting of Ukraine's military allies at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Hegseth delivered the clearest and bluntest public statement so far on the new U.S. administration's approach to the nearly three-year-old war.
In his first meeting that included NATO and Ukrainian defense ministers, Mr. Hegseth told them that Mr. Trump “intends to end this war by diplomacy and bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the table.” But for Ukraine to try to regain all of the territory Russia has seized since 2014, as it insists it must do, “will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he said.
"We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective," Hegseth told the meeting of Ukrainian officials and more than 40 allies.
"Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering," he added.
He also told Washington's NATO allies that they would have to step up and assume greater responsibility for Europe's security. He said "stark strategic realities", such U.S. border security issues and threats posed by China, prevented the U.S. from being "primarily focused on the security of Europe".
