For the first time since the formation of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the U.S. secretary of defense will not participate in the meeting, signaling a shift in Washington's approach to Ukraine.
According to reports, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who returned Sunday from a national security conference in Singapore, will not arrive in Brussels until Wednesday evening — after the conclusion of the June 4 meeting at NATO headquarters. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss scheduling matters, confirmed that Hegseth will also not join the session virtually.
“This is the latest step in a series the U.S. has taken to distance itself from the war effort in Ukraine,” the report states.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group, often referred to as the “Ramstein group,” was created by Hegseth’s predecessor, Lloyd Austin, shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Under Austin’s leadership, the United States chaired the group, which includes more than 50 countries that have collectively provided Ukraine with approximately $126 billion in military aid — $66.5 billion of that from the United States.
Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff held monthly meetings, both in-person and virtually, to coordinate international support. However, since taking office, Hegseth has moved away from that leadership role. Journalists note that he has not authorized new military assistance, withdrawn from active chairmanship, and now declined to attend the June meeting altogether.
At his first Ukraine Contact Group meeting and during a NATO defense ministers’ gathering in Brussels in February, Hegseth reportedly advised Ukraine to drop its NATO membership ambitions and abandon efforts to reclaim all Russian-occupied territory. He also made it clear that President Donald Trump expects Europe to shoulder more of the financial and military responsibility for Ukraine’s defense.
Since Trump’s return to office, the U.S. has not announced any new packages of military or weapons assistance for Ukraine.
The June 4 Ramstein-style meeting will take place at NATO headquarters in Brussels, continuing without the direct involvement of the United States for the first time since the group’s creation.