United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said this Wednesday (15) in Brussels that Washington and its allies “will impose costs on Russia for their continued aggression” if Moscow does not end the war in Ukraine.
The statement was made during a meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, held at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and reinforces the position of Donald Trump’s government to pressure the Kremlin through military power and strategic diplomacy.
“If we need to take that step, the United States Department of War stands ready to do its part, in a way that only the United States can do,” Hegseth said. The secretary also highlighted that “this is not a war that began under President Trump’s responsibility, but will end under it”, highlighting the current American government’s commitment to seeking a negotiated solution to the conflict in Eastern Europe, but from a position of strength.
According to Hegseth, the White House’s priority at this time is to end “this tragic war, stop the unnecessary bloodshed and come to the peace table.” The head of the Pentagon reiterated that Trump’s current policy combines military pressure and encouragement of direct negotiation with Moscow, within a framework in which NATO allies are called upon to contribute more to European security.
The secretary insisted that peace can only be achieved through force and real deterrence capabilities.
“You get peace when you are strong. Not when you use strong words or shake your finger – you get it when you have real capabilities that your adversaries respect,” he declared.
During the meeting, Hegseth called on NATO countries to increase their investment in Ukraine’s Priority Needs List (PURL), the new mechanism that replaced direct US arms donations to Kiev. Through PURL, allies finance the purchase of American weapons for Ukrainian defense.
“Our expectation today is that more countries will donate even more, that they will buy even more to provide for Ukraine and bring this conflict to a peaceful conclusion,” he said. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte confirmed that more than $2 billion has already been committed through PURL and that “more than 16 allies” have joined the initiative, including Belgium, Germany, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal, who also participated in the meeting, presented Kiev’s military priorities for 2025 and 2026, highlighting the need to obtain long-range missiles, such as the Tomahawk requested from the United States.
“We need to combine our deep-strike drones with our partners’ deep-strike missiles. I ask for that kind of support,” he said.
Shmyhal estimated that Ukraine will need about $120 billion in 2026 to finance its defense, half of which could be covered by domestic resources. He called on allied countries to allocate “no less than 0.25% of GDP to military support for Ukraine,” or otherwise resort to loans secured by frozen Russian assets.
At the end of the meeting, the Ukrainian representative thanked “all of President Trump’s personal efforts to bring Russia to peace negotiations”, but warned that “Russia still believes it can gain more influence with bombs”. According to him, only “strong and authentic global pressure” can make Moscow change its position and pave the way for a lasting ceasefire.
