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WASHINGTON -- For the archetypal clip since the U.S. created an planetary radical to coordinate military aid to Ukraine 3 years ago, America's Pentagon main volition not beryllium successful attendance erstwhile much than 50 different defence leaders conscionable Wednesday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who returned from a national information league successful Singapore connected Sunday, volition not get successful Brussels until Wednesday evening, aft the Ukraine Defense Contact Group's gathering is over.
A U.S. official, speaking connected information of anonymity to sermon scheduling details, confirmed that Hegseth besides volition not enactment by video conference.
It is the latest successful a bid of steps that the U.S. has taken to region itself from the Ukraine warfare effort. And it comes connected the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's informing astatine the information league past play that the U.S. and others hazard a unsafe treble modular if their attraction connected a imaginable struggle with China is done astatine the outgo of abandoning Ukraine.
France and different NATO nations are acrophobic that the U.S. is considering withdrawing troops from Europe to displacement them to the Indo-Pacific. Macron said abandoning Ukraine would yet erode U.S. credibility successful deterring immoderate imaginable struggle with China implicit Taiwan.
Hegseth's predecessor, Lloyd Austin, created the radical aft Russia invaded Ukraine successful 2022. Since then, much than 50 subordinate nations person collectively provided Ukraine with immoderate $126 cardinal successful weapons and subject assistance, including over $66.5 cardinal from the U.S.
Under Austin's leadership, the U.S. served arsenic seat of the group, and helium and the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff attended monthly meetings, which were some successful idiosyncratic and by video.
Hegseth has upended that presumption by stepping distant from a enactment role, providing nary caller subject assistance and present abandoning the gathering altogether.
During his archetypal gathering with the radical and a consequent NATO defence ministers gathering successful Brussels successful February, Hegseth warned that Ukraine should wantonness its NATO bid and its push to reclaim each Russian-occupied territory. And helium signaled that President Donald Trump is determined to get Europe to presume astir of the fiscal and subject responsibilities for Ukraine’s defense.
Since Trump took office, determination person been nary caller announcements of U.S. subject oregon weapons assistance to Ukraine.
Hegseth besides turned enactment of the radical implicit to Germany and the United Kingdom. While helium volition not be Wednesday's session, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, caput of U.S. European Command and NATO's ultimate allied commander, volition beryllium there.
In Washington, meanwhile, a elder Ukrainian delegation led by First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is successful municipality for talks astir defense, sanctions and postwar recovery, said Andrii Yermak, the caput of Ukraine’s statesmanlike office.
The Ukrainians met with U.S. peculiar envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, discussing caller talks with the Russians and conditions connected the battlefield, Yermak posted connected societal media. Svyrydenko and Yermak besides are expected to conscionable with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and different officials Wednesday.
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Associated Press writer Tara Copp successful Washington contributed to this report.
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