U.S is not interested in Ukraine war anymore

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will again skip the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting this week, making the U.S. one of the few countries that won’t send a top civilian defense official to the critical gathering of Ukrainian allies.

Instead, the Pentagon’s policy chief Elbridge Colby will attend the virtual meeting just as he did for the last meeting in February, according to two U.S. officials who, like others in this story, were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Hegseth has only sporadically attended the meetings over the past year — a sign that the Trump administration has other priorities and increasingly expects Europe to shoulder the burden of supplying weapons to Kyiv.

Over 50 defense ministers from countries committed to supporting Ukraine will gather virtually on Wednesday. The meeting will be led by German defense minister Boris Pistorius and U.K. defense chief John Healey, who have taken over coordinating the group after the Trump administration gave up its leadership position soon after taking office.

The leader of NATO forces, American Gen. Alexus Grynkewich is unable to attend. But his deputy, U.K. Air Chief Marshal Sir Johnny Stringer, and the German Maj. Gen. Ulf Häussler, deputy commander of the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, will log on to the meeting instead.

“NATO continues to deliver crucial support” to Ukraine, Grynkewich’s spokesperson, Col. Martin O’Donnell said in a statement. “The involvement of these two leaders in this meeting ensures it.”

The Trump administration has publicly and privately told allies that it is focusing on homeland security and the Western hemisphere, and expects Europe to provide for its own defense. The shift was spelled out in the White House National Security Security Strategy and Pentagon National Defense Strategy, which bumped Europe down the list of American concerns below the Western hemisphere, homeland defense and the Asia Pacific.