In a historic first, Washington’s Pentagon chief will skip a crucial meeting of over 50 military leaders that could shape the course of the Ukraine war.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth won’t be attending Wednesday’s gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a source familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.
It’s the first time in three years—since the U.S. created the group under the Biden administration to coordinate military aid to Ukraine—that America’s top defense official will be absent. This follows an earlier snub in April, when President Donald Trump’s defense chief dialed in to the group’s 27th meeting from the U.S.
This time, he’s skipping the meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels altogether, sending U.S. NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker in his place, according to Politico. Hegseth will only arrive in Brussels later that evening to attend the NATO defense ministers’ summit the following day.
The Pentagon cited scheduling issues in a statement to Politico.
“Secretary Hegseth’s travel schedule precluded attendance at tomorrow’s UDCG meeting,” Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said. “The United States is focused on ending the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible, on terms that establish an enduring peace.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon for additional comment.
The snub comes as Trump, who was inaugurated on Jan. 20, is faltering on his campaign pledge to end the war within 24 hours of taking office. His administration is reportedly stepping back from the group, handing over leadership to the U.K. and Germany.
Trump hasn’t unveiled new military aid packages or weapons shipments to Ukraine since taking office, but his administration is continuing to provide the war-torn country with assistance under a $61 billion aid package announced by predecessor Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, official talks between Ukraine and Russia on a potential ceasefire are going nowhere.
Officials from both sides met for a second round of meetings in Istanbul on Monday, but a source close to the Kremlin told independent Russian outlet Verstka that at present, “there is absolutely no goal to achieve peace.”
“The negotiation process was kickstarted because our American partners invited us to it. They believed that the war was going on because we were not talking,” the source said.
