Ukraine returning to pre-2014 borders, joining NATO are unrealistic, Hegseth says

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday it is “unrealistic” to expect Russia to return the Crimean Peninsula to Ukraine or approve Kyiv’s accession to NATO as part of a negotiated settlement to the almost three-year-old war.“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine,” Hegseth told a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, where officials from roughly 50 nations gathered to discuss next steps to support Kyiv in its fight against Moscow.“But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he added.Hegseth’s declaration marked a stark shift in US policy from the open-ended stance of the Biden administration, which had stated it would support Ukraine “as long as it takes” and argued that when it came to peace discussions, there would be “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”Wednesday’s meeting was the group’s first since President Trump was sworn in as the 47th chief executive on Jan.

20.While Trump has not ruled out supplying Ukraine with additional military aid in exchange for mineral rights or other benefits for the US, he has also tasked his cabinet to look at economic and diplomatic strategies to push for peace.“Our message is clear, the bloodshed must stop and this war must end,” Hegseth said.“President Trump … intends to end this war by diplomacy and bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the table, and the US Department of Defense will help achieve this goal.”The Pentagon chief added that peace can only be achieved “by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield.”“A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again.

This must not be Minsk 3.0,” he said, referring to the first and second Minsk accords that tried and failed to stop the fighting in eastern U...