During a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ruled out Ukraine joining NATO and spoke some hard truths. “We must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective…the United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.”

The secretary also urged European nations, especially members of the UDCG, to commit an overwhelming share of aid to Ukraine, and to ‘level’ with their citizens on the threat facing European nations.