Return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders not ‘realistic’, says US defence chief

“I am here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe,” Hegseth said, though his language was notably softened from a draft statement that had earlier suggested a broader rethinking of Nato’s role, according to The Guardian.

The initial draft, shared with the press, had declared that the US was no longer “the primary guarantor of security in Europe,” hinting at a fundamental shift in Washington’s role in the 75-year-old alliance.

Hegseth, who is on his first international trip after steeping in the role, also told Washington’s Nato allies that they must step up and take on greater responsibility for Europe’s security.

“Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine,” he insisted, though he stopped short of announcing a halt to US military aid, which has played a critical role in Kyiv’s resistance against Russia’s invasion.

The defence secretary also reinforced the Trump administration’s stance that “stopping the fighting and reaching an enduring peace” in Ukraine is a top priority and that Kyiv must acknowledge it cannot regain all the territory occupied by Russia.

“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” Hegseth told the meeting of more than 40 countries allied with Ukraine. “Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he added.

Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and later backed pro-Russian separatists in an armed insurgency against Kyiv’s forces in the eastern Donbas region. Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, mainly in the east and south.

Hegseth said any durable peace must include “robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again”. However, he added that “the United States does not believe that Nato membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement”.

Instead, he suggested that security guarantees should be backed by “capable European and non-European troops”. If such troops were deployed as peacekeepers in Ukraine, they should be part of a non-Nato mission and “should not be covered under Article 5,” he said, referring to the alliance’s mutual defence clause.

Nato’s Article 5 states that if one member state comes under attack, others have to be prepared to come to its aid.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the idea that Europe alone can provide Kyiv with sufficient security guarantees without US involvement. “Security guarantees without America are not real,” Zelenskyy told The Guardian earlier this week, reinforcing the critical role Washington continues to play in Ukraine’s defence.