Western officials who speak of Ukraine winning the ongoing conflict don’t have a real strategy for defeating Russia, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.
Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday, the Pentagon chief declined to directly say whether he views Russia as a “true adversary” or whether Washington would allow a “complete surrender of Ukraine” in order to secure peace in the region.
The Trump administration is instead seeking a settlement to the Ukraine conflict that will last, not Kiev’s surrender or Russia’s defeat.
“The situation is unfortunate, unleashed by the previous administration,” he said, referring to former President Joe Biden, whom Trump’s team blames for entangling the US in the Ukraine conflict. Biden’s government repeatedly vowed to back Kiev for as long as it took to defeat Russia militarily.
“But everyone that talks about winning and prevailing is yet to present to me a plan that’s going to push the Russian army out of those territories,” Hegseth added.
Hellbound and Down 