Defense Secretary Pete Hegses on Tuesday completely ruled out the possibility of sending US troops to Ukraine to dodge Russian invaders as the war approaches its third year.
Hegseth, 44, previewed his plan to “speak directly with our friends” in Europe on Tuesday, hoping to achieve a “speech agreement” in Ukraine.
“We don’t send troops to Ukraine,” he said vehemently when asked by German reporters on Tuesday.
After Germany, Hegses will be visiting Belgium and Poland as part of a week-long trip, as he flocks with his allies in Europe.
His remarks about Ukraine came before his participation in the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Group at NATO’s Brussels headquarters.
His visit led the Secretary of Defense to be the first to visit NATO as a powerful military alliance waits breathlessly to see what President Trump is doing about the ongoing battle in Ukraine. I’m a Trump administration official.
Despite Trump trying to get America to first and bring more of their fair share to their allies, Heggs stressed that the US has not abandoned Europe.
“The European continent deserves to be free from invasion, but it should be the person that our neighbours are the most invested,” Hegses said, but US defense spending will not lower than 3% of gross domestic product, but US defense spending will not lower than 3% of gross domestic product. I called for it to happen.
“We are tolerant of not reviewing forced attitudes everywhere, but it’s a wrong plan to say, ‘Oh, America is either abandoning something or abandoning America’s departure’. “Hegses said. “No, America’s smart.”
Trump, 78, has promised to put an end to the war in Ukraine soon, claiming that he had spoken with Russian leader Vladimir Putin since winning the election, but he has detailed refused to make it clear.
Meanwhile, the president began to pressure Kiev to access the vast reservoirs of mineral resources in exchange for aid.
“They (Ukraine) may make a deal, they may make a deal,” Trump meditated to Fox News’ Brett Byer in a clip that aired Monday. “They may one day be Russian, or they may not be Russian one day.”
The Treasury Department of Scott Bescent will become the first major official of the Trump administration to have the president signed a contract and visited Kiev.
“This war must end soon, and there will be too much death and destruction,” Trump declared on a true social Tuesday, announcing Bescent’s upcoming trip. “The US spends billions of dollars around the world and shows little.”
Trump has long been bothering that NATO allies aren’t pulling their weight well.
Before the Hegseth question and answer session with reporters, the Secretary of Defense lifted the weight literally and worked with the US troops stationed in Germany.
Hegses, an Army veteran, posted a picture of himself running sweaty in the early hours of Germany.
“Strength is equivalent to preparation,” Hegses wrote to X: There is no bureaucracy (original text) – a sharp mind, a strong body, a mission-first idea. ”
A video shared by Hegseth showed that he was grateful to the military afterwards.
The Secretary of Defense also praised Elon Musk, who leads the Office of Government Efficiency (Doge), as a “great patriot,” adding that he would welcome Doge into the pentagon.
On Tuesday, Heggs spent time with the leaders of the US European Command and the leaders of the US Africa Command. His overseas trip will close with a stop in Poland later this week.
