Hegset will not participate in "Ramstein". This time for sure
Pete Hegset (Photo: SHAWN THEW/EPA)

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend a meeting of the international group for coordinating military assistance to Ukraine, known as the Ramstein format, scheduled for Wednesday, June 4, in Brussels. The Pentagon chief will not participate in the meeting for the first time since the group was created, the Associated Press reports .

Hegset will arrive in Brussels only on Wednesday evening, after the conclusion of the meeting of the Contact Group on Defense Issues in Ukraine.

According to the agency's interlocutor, who wished to remain anonymous, Hegset will also not participate in the meeting via video link.

Read also
How the US stopped the war in the Balkans: lessons for Trump regarding the war in Ukraine

As the AP notes, for the first time since the United States created the Ramstein format three years ago, the head of the Pentagon will not be present at the meeting of more than 50 defense ministers from other countries. Thus, the United States has taken another step to distance itself from the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Before the last meeting of the Contact Group on April 11, it was also reported that Hegset refused to participate in the meeting. However, at the last minute, he decided to join via video link.

Despite the absence of the Pentagon chief, the United States will be represented at the contact group meeting. The head of the US European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Christopher Cavoli, will participate in the Ramstein meeting.

UPDATED AT 10:30 AM. Pentagon spokesman Kingsley Wilson said Hegseth will be absent from the Ramstein meeting due to a "busy work schedule," Politico reports . He will be replaced by U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker.

According to a representative of the US Department of Defense, Hegset will arrive in Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers, which will take place the day after the meeting of the Contact Group on Defense Issues in Ukraine.

  • On February 12, 2025, a meeting of the Ramstein format was held in Brussels, chaired by British Defense Secretary Healy. Before Trump came to power, the group was chaired by the United States.
  • On April 4, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that the United States has no intention of leaving the Contact Group on Ukraine, and assistance will continue to be provided.
  • On May 6, it became known that the order to temporarily suspend the supply of military aid to Ukraine allegedly came from the office of Pentagon chief Hegsett.