Washington ready to 'impose costs' on Russia as 'only US can,' Pentagon chief warns
The U.S. and its allies will "impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression" unless the war in Ukraine ends, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Oct. 15.
"The U.S. War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do," Hegseth said at a Ramstein-format meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels.
Though the Pentagon chief did not provide details, the comments come after the Trump administration floated the possibility of supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles.
Hegseth also urged Western defense chiefs to ramp up purchases of U.S. arms for Ukraine under the NATO-led Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative.
Several allies, including Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, already pledged around $2 billion for Kyiv through this scheme last month.
Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, and Finland announced additional pledges to the NATO-led initiative during the Oct. 15 Ramstein meeting.
PURL was launched as the Trump administration moved away from direct arms donations to Ukraine and demanded that NATO allies fund the defense deliveries.
Despite the initiative, a recent report by the Kiel Institute said that military aid to Ukraine declined sharply in July and August, dropping 43% below the level of the first half of the year.
The Trump administration has also urged other partners to halt imports of Russian energy, presenting it as a condition for imposing harsher sanctions of its own.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Oct. 15 that he informed his Japanese counterpart, Katsunobu Kato, that Washington expects Tokyo to halt Russian energy purchases.
"Japan will do what it can based on the basic principle of coordinating with G7 countries to achieve peace in Ukraine in a fair manner," Kato told reporters when asked about the request, Reuters reported.
