Hegseth Rules Out Nato Membership For Ukraine In Peace Deal With Russia

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that he does not believe Ukraine joining NATO is “realistic,” as the Trump administration looks to broker an end to Russia’s war in the country. 

Speaking ahead of a meeting of the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, Hegseth also indicated Washington will no longer prioritize European and Ukrainian security.

“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said, adding U.S. troops will not be involved in securing a postwar Kyiv. 

Any security guarantees for the war-torn country “must be backed by capable European and non-European troops,” the Trump Cabinet official said, adding, “to be clear ... there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.”

President Trump often lamented on the campaign trail last year that Washington was spending too much money on aid for Ukraine and has long pushed for NATO members to increase their spending on defense.

Hegseth said Wednesday he wanted to “directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe,” noting that Washington is “focusing on securing our own border.”

He also said it is “unrealistic” to try to return Ukraine’s borders to what they were before 2014 — when Russia annexed Crimea — indicating that the United States will push a negotiation between Kyiv and Moscow to end the war in which Ukraine cedes territory. 

“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” Hegseth said. “Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.” 

Restoring Crimea as Ukrainian territory has not been a demand from Kyiv’s officials for peace talks, with Ukrainians instead fearful that any Trump-involved negotiations would force them to give up land taken by Moscow since the war began in February 2022. 

Trump announced later on Wednesday he spoke Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said the two agreed to “start negotiations immediately” around the war in Ukraine.

Concerns are also likely to arise over Hegseth’s comments about America pulling back on security in the region, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that without U.S. leadership, Europe cannot alone provide security guarantees to keep Russia from launching future attacks.

In response to Hegseth’s comments, the United Kingdom’s Defense Secretary John Healey said that NATO allies “hear your concerns on stepping up for Ukraine, we are and we will, on stepping up for European security, we are and we will.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, meanwhile, earlier said that he agrees with Trump “that we must equalize security assistance to Ukraine. But to really change the trajectory of the conflict, we need to do even more.”

Updated: 12:31 p.m.