Original link: Hegseth calls Ukraine’s return to old borders ‘unrealistic’ / Politico.
Wednesday Hegseth said:
“We will only end this devastating war and establish a durable peace by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield,” he said, adding that “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.” ... Any durable peace for Ukraine “must include robust security guarantees,” including the deployment of troops, Hegseth said. ... Hegseth insisted no U.S. troops would go into Ukraine. He also said any troops from NATO nations would not be covered by the alliance’s Article Five, which says an attack on a NATO ally is an attack on the entire alliance. That provision has only been enacted once, after the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on Sept. 11. ... The new Defense secretary also reinforced the Trump administration’s intent to shift focus away from Europe. He said priorities such as China and securing the southern border mean that “stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.”and per CBS also:
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia must include security guarantees for Ukraine, but that they "should not be provided through NATO membership, but must instead be backed by capable European and non-European troops."which indicate that Russia would be allowed to keep at least some of the areas they have taken by military force and that defending Ukraine against further russian agression would the Europes problem not a problem for the US.
But next day he per Politico said:
“Everything is on the table” when it comes to negotiations to end the Ukraine war, Hegseth said during a press conference wrapping up two days of NATO meetings in Brussels.and per NBC:
The Trump administration has suggested to Ukraine that the United States be granted 50% ownership of the country’s rare earth minerals, and signaled an openness to deploying American troops there to guard them if there’s a deal with Russia to end the war, according to four U.S. officials. ... Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this month that he would view access to the minerals as a form of "security." “I want to have the security of rare earth. We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earth, and I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it," Trump said. Many of Ukraine’s minerals are in areas now controlled by Russian troops, three U.S. officials said.which indicate that US do want Russia out of some occupied territories and could be willing to deploy troops to protect those areas against new russian attacks.
So pretty unclear what the US plan is.