Pentagon explains reason Hegseth will miss Ramstein meeting for first time in three years
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will miss a meeting of 50 defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels to coordinate military assistance to Ukraine for the first time in three years. The Pentagon says scheduling issues are the reason.
This is reported by Politico.
"Secretary Hegseth's travel schedule does not allow him to participate in tomorrow's UDCG (Ukraine Defense Contact Group - ed.) meeting. The United States is focused on ending the war in Ukraine as soon as possible on terms that ensure lasting peace," Pentagon spokesman Kingsley Wilson said.
At the same time, the publication noted that regular meetings of NATO defense ministers and others have coordinated funding for the war in Ukraine and have become a key component of Western aid to Kyiv in its fight against russian forces, but the Trump administration has distanced itself from the group, handing over leadership to the United Kingdom and Germany.
It also points out that Hegseth’s absence appears to signal a further weakening of the Trump administration’s relations with Europe and Ukraine.
According to a Defense Department official and two people familiar with their plans, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal matters, Hegseth will be in Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers on Thursday, but his place at the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Wednesday will be taken by U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker.
It is recalled that Britain and Germany took over the leadership of the group in February after Hegseth said that the US would no longer participate in the meetings established by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in April 2022 after russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since February this year, the meetings have been chaired by British Defense Secretary John Healey and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, while Hegseth only virtually participated in the meeting last month.
It was reported that US Secretary of Defense and Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth will miss the meeting of the international group for coordinating military assistance to Ukraine "Ramstein".
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the next meeting in the Ramstein format will be held on June 4 at NATO headquarters.
The previous meeting in the Ramstein format was held in April 2025. Discussions during the meeting led to new commitments to provide military assistance to Ukraine from allied countries worth over EUR 21 billion.