US won't send troops to Ukraine, Pentagon chief says

The U.S. plans to review the deployment of its troops around the world but is not going to send them to Ukraine, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a press conference on Feb. 11.

Hegseth's remarks come amid ongoing discussions among Western countries about the possible deployment of peacekeeping forces if a ceasefire is negotiated.

"We are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine," Hegseth told reporters in Stuttgart, Germany, during his visit to U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command headquarters.

Hegseth added that Washington currently has no plans to reduce the U.S. contingent abroad but will review its deployment by President Donald Trump's strategic vision.

The U.S. Defense Secretary also expressed hope for a swift peace agreement in Ukraine, which Trump has pledged to conclude.

"With hopefully a rapid peace deal in Ukraine, which the President (Donald Trump) is committed to delivering, we can then review force posture and encourage as you're going to see tomorrow (on Feb. 12) ... at the Ukraine contact group and the NATO ministerial, we're going to have straight talk with our friends," Hegseth said.

Hegseth is expected to attend the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), also known as the Ramstein summit, as part of a tour of Germany, Belgium, and Poland, according to a Pentagon statement published Feb. 7.

At the summit, the defense secretary aims to "reiterate President Trump's commitment for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible," the statement read.

However, this time, Hegseth is not likely to announce new military aid supplies, which was a regular occurrence during the Joe Biden administration, according to the Washington Post (WP).

The Pentagon chief will not hold separate meetings with his Ukrainian counterparts but will rather be a "listener" at the Ramstein and at the meeting of NATO defense ministers on Feb. 13, an unnamed U.S. official told WP on condition of anonymity.

The transition of power in Washington and expected changes in U.S. policy on Ukraine cast doubt on the future of the Ramstein summit. In February, for the first time since the establishment of the Ramstein format, the meeting was convened by the U.K., not the U.S.

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The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek