The GOP Senate Armed Services chairman criticized Pete Hegseth on Friday for making a “rookie mistake” after the new defense secretary offered shifting positions related to US posture toward the war in Ukraine this week.
In Brussels on Wednesday, Hegseth said Kyiv joining NATO is unrealistic and that a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders, before Russia invaded Crimea and eastern Ukraine, “is an unrealistic objective.” A day later, Hegseth hedged on those comments, saying “everything is on the table” in negotiations between the two countries.
