Hegseth says NATO membership not realistic for Ukraine

Courtney McBride and Andrea Palasciano, Bloomberg News on Feb 12, 2025

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is committed to a sovereign Ukraine but that a peace deal allowing for eventual NATO membership isn’t a realistic outcome.

Hegseth also said Wednesday that U.S. troops won’t be deployed to Ukraine as any part of security guarantees and that it’s not feasible to return Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders, before Russia’s invasion of Crimea.

“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” Hegseth said about Ukraine’s NATO ambitions at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels.

President Donald Trump has been pressing for an end to the war in Ukraine, saying his administration is putting together a proposal for peace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said that he sees a U.S. role as essential for any security guarantees in a settlement.

Hegseth also said Europe will need to “step into the arena” and take more responsibility for the continent’s security, adding that an unbalanced relationship creates dependency.

“Honesty will be our policy going forward,” he added.

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 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 to 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.

Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to travel to Ukraine this week to meet Zelenskyy as part of U.S. efforts to resolve the war and secure access to critical minerals.

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With assistance from Katharina Rosskopf.

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