02/13/2025

In Meeting with Allies, Hegseth Labels Ukraine’s Peace Goals ‘Unrealistic’

He also said any agreement can't include Ukraine becoming part of NATO

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a former TV news personality, on Wednesday called Ukraine's desire to recover all of the territory it has lost to Russia since 2014 an "unrealistic objective," pledging that the Trump administration will pursue peace negotiations to end the two nations’ war while pointedly shaping those talks at the outset.

"Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering," Hegseth said. Any durable peace deal, he added, must come with "robust security guarantees," international oversight of the boundary between Russian and Ukrainian forces, and no NATO membership for Ukraine — which would require other countries to defend Ukrainian territory in any future conflict.

"To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine," Hegseth added.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.