Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth informed reporters last Friday that the presence of U.S. troops in Ukraine is improbable, emphasizing the absence of any divergence between himself and Vice President JD Vance.
During a joint press briefing with Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Hegseth discussed the potential deployment of U.S. troops to Ukraine. Initially, he seemed to dismiss the notion, but later he appeared to leave the possibility open.
Hegseth also stated that he would not place any restrictions on what the President of the United States could consider negotiating with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.
At the Munich Security Conference, Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker, R-Ms., told Politico that he was “puzzled” and “disturbed” by Hegseth’s remarks in Brussels.
“Everybody knows … and people in the administration know you don’t say before your first meeting what you will agree to and what you won’t agree to,” Sen. Wicker told Politico, classifying Hegseth’s comments as a “rookie mistake.”
President Donald Trump (center), Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right). (Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto via Getty Images | Contributor/Getty Images | Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Trump has long spoken about ending the war between Ukraine and Russia, often asserting that it would not have started had he been in the Oval Office.
On Wednesday, Trump announced that in a “lengthy and highly productive” phone call Putin agreed to “immediately” begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump said he asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to lead the negotiations, saying he thinks they “will be successful.”
