Pentagon chief to ignore Ramstein meeting – Defense News

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ("Ramstein format") meeting in Brussels on April 11, marking the first time the coalition gathers without a Pentagon chief, Defense News reports, citing multiple European officials and a U.S. source.

The outlet reported that Hegseth will neither attend in person nor join online, a first for the coalition since its inception.

It remains unclear if the U.S. will send lower-level representatives, though sources suggest the Pentagon has no plans to dispatch senior officials.

Defense News noted that European allies see Hegseth’s absence as the latest sign of the Trump administration’s lower priority on arming Ukraine.

Hegseth attended the last Ramstein meeting in February but broke tradition as the first U.S. defense secretary in 26 sessions not to chair it—Britain took the lead instead.

His predecessor, Lloyd Austin, founded the group at Ramstein Air Base shortly after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Austin missed only one meeting in early 2024, joining online while recovering from cancer treatment complications.

The Ramstein format, vital for coordinating aid to Ukraine, shifted to British leadership earlier this year. On February 12, Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey chaired a Brussels session, a role set to continue for the April 11 meeting, per a March 27 announcement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on March 16 that the next gathering would also occur in Brussels.