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Kyiv’s desire to recover Ukraine’s pre-war borders is “unrealistic” and Nato membership is not on the cards, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth warned.
Hegseth said Washington wanted a “sovereign and prosperous” Ukraine but considered a return to pre-2014 borders as unlikely.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and then backed pro-Russian separatists in an armed insurgency against Kyiv‘s forces in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.
“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” Hegseth said told a meeting of more than 40 countries allied to Ukraine.
He added that the US “does not believe that Nato membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement” between Kyiv and Moscow.
It comes after Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin is not preparing for peace and continues to slaughter Ukrainians despite talk of a ceasefire.
The Ukrainian president said Putin was still destroying cities and killing civilians after a Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv killed someone and injured four others.
Watch: Ukraine returning to pre-2014 borders ‘unrealistic’, says Pete Hegseth
Alexander Butler12 February 2025 14:53
Hegseth rules out US troops in Europe
Security guarantees for Ukraine should be backed by “capable European and non-European troops”, Hegseth said.
“If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-Nato mission,” he said.
Alexander Butler12 February 2025 14:45
Watch: Nato chief vows ‘devastating’ response to any Russian attack
Alexander Butler12 February 2025 14:25
US wants ‘sovereign Ukraine’ but pre-2014 borders ‘unrealistic’
“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 to 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 then backed pro-Russian separatists in an armed insurgency against Kyiv’s forces in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.
Alexander Butler12 February 2025 14:22
US defense secretary lays out Trump’s vision for peace
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the Trump administration does not see Nato membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war triggered by Russia’s invasion.
Speaking at a meeting of Ukraine’s military allies at Nato headquarters in Brussels, Hegseth delivered the clearest and bluntest public statement so far on the new US administration’s approach to the nearly three-year-old war.
He also told Washington’s Nato allies that they would have to step up and assume greater responsibility for Europe’s security.
Ukraine joining Nato and returning to pre-2014 borders ‘not realistic’
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said it was unrealistic that Kyiv will return to its pre-2014 borders.
“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” he said.
To be clear, he says, as part of any security guarantee, “there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine”.
Nato warns Putin he would lose in a war with the alliance
A Russian attack on Nato would be “devastating” and Vladimir Putin would lose, the alliance’s secretary general warned.
Mark Rutte warned Vladimir Putin directly. “If Putin attacks Nato, the reaction will be devastating. He will lose,” he said. “Let him not try this – he knows this.”
Alexander Butler12 February 2025 13:26
Two Colombian men ‘kidnapped’ by Putin in Venezuela for fighting in Ukraine
Alexander Butler12 February 2025 13:00
