Defense Sec. Sets the Limits for Ukraine at NATO Meeting

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told NATO allies that returning Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders is “an unrealistic objective” and an “illusionary goal.” This was his first NATO meeting as defense secretary.

Hegseth said he intended to end the war with diplomacy and by bringing Russia and Ukraine to the peace table. Russia has agreed to begin negotiations.

Ukraine has demanded a return to pre-2014 borders. Hegseth said that would only prolong the war and the suffering.

“We will only end this devastating war and establish a durable peace by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield,” he said.

Mr. Hegseth also told the meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels that Mr. Trump expected Europe to bear more financial and military responsibility for Ukraine’s defense.

Europe, he said, must take more responsibility for its conventional defense and spend more money on its armed forces, up to 5 percent of national output, as the United States deals with its own security risks and the challenge of China.

Mr. Trump, he added, does not support Ukraine’s membership in NATO as part of a realistic peace plan.

After a settlement, “a durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again,” but that would be the responsibility, he said, of European and non-European troops in a “non-NATO mission” unprotected by NATO’s Article Five commitment to collective defense.

That’s good news! Ukraine President Zelensky insists on NATO membership and the US putting troops on their soil in addition to all land back, including Crimea.

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