{"id":2442676,"date":"2025-06-04T09:23:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T13:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-to-skip-nato-meeting-on-ukraine-in-brussels\/"},"modified":"2025-06-04T09:24:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T13:24:33","slug":"hegseth-to-skip-nato-meeting-on-ukraine-in-brussels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-to-skip-nato-meeting-on-ukraine-in-brussels\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth to skip NATO meeting on Ukraine in Brussels"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhegseth-to-skip-nato-meeting-on-ukraine-in-brussels%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2442676&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will miss a NATO meeting in Brussels focused on military aid for Ukraine, due to scheduling conflicts. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >meeting occurs amid escalating conflict<\/a> in Ukraine following a important drone attack on Russian airfields, which may undermine Russia&#8217;s long-range missile capabilities.Although Hegseth will not attend, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew whitaker will represent him. The U.S. aims to end the war in Ukraine swiftly,and the Biden management is continuing military aid despite previous tensions over aid distribution. Peace discussions between ukraine and Russia have seen mixed responses, wiht Ukraine rejecting a proposed plan that limits its military and undermines its NATO aspirations. Meanwhile, President Trump&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fla-gov-desantis-says-vaccinating-seniors-is-his-priority\/\" title=\"Fla. Gov. DeSantis says vaccinating seniors is his priority\">administration remains committed<\/a> to supporting ukraine while seeking a resolution to the conflict.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Hegseth to skip NATO meeting on Ukraine in Brussels<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2138827\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Defense Secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> will not attend Wednesday&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nato\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">NATO meeting<\/a> in Brussels of 50 top defense officials concerning military aid for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting comes as the war in Ukraine intensifies after a resoundingly successful attack on Russian airfields by Ukrainian drones on Sunday. The attack will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/02\/world\/europe\/ukraine-russia-drone-strike-what-to-know.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">likely have<\/a> a significant impact on Russia&rsquo;s long-range missile capabilities.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3430530\/middle-east-cheers-trump-syrian-policy-james-lankford\/\">Middle East cheers Trump&#8217;s Syrian policy, Lankford says after foreign trip<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3429654\/us-reduce-military-bases-syria-from-eight-to-one\/\">US to reduce number of military bases in Syria from eight to one<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3429282\/rubio-bukele-return-deported-migrants\/\">Rubio in charge of discussions with Bukele to return deported immigrants: State Department<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Hegseth&rsquo;s office cited scheduling concerns as the reason for his absence from the meeting, though the defense secretary will be in Brussels on Thursday for a different NATO meeting.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Secretary Hegseth&rsquo;s travel schedule precluded attendance at tomorrow&rsquo;s UDCG meeting,&rdquo; Defense Department press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/06\/03\/hegseth-skip-ukraine-meeting-nato-00384220?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=f30a4edf-4720-44be-853f-499f03445417\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">statement<\/a>. &ldquo;The United States is focused on ending the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible, on terms that establish an enduring peace.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker will attend in Hegseth&rsquo;s place. Whitaker said in May that the United States would discuss troop withdrawals from Europe later this year but that nothing has been determined. Hegseth said during the NATO meeting in February that American troops&rsquo; presence in Europe was &ldquo;not forever.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that President Donald Trump would attend a NATO summit in The Hague later this month. NATO Secretary-General&nbsp;Mark Rutte said Wednesday that he invited Ukraine to the summit in The Hague.<\/p>\n<p>Leavitt said Trump &ldquo;remains positive&rdquo; about ending the Ukraine war. &ldquo;The president does not want to see this war prolonged. He wants the fighting to stop. He wants people to stop dying, and he wants this to be solved at the negotiating table,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3396232\/pete-hegseth-interview-hard-choices-military\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">PETE HEGSETH&rsquo;S HARD CHOICES: TODAY&rsquo;S DECISIONS AND TOMORROW&rsquo;S MILITARY <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Though the Trump administration continues to send weapons and equipment to Ukraine as part of a $61 billion aid package former President Joe Biden established, Trump temporarily suspended military aid to the country after his Oval Office clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the end of February.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine and Russia met for peace talks on Monday and agreed to swap thousands of dead and injured troops. For now, Russia has presented a plan, which Ukraine <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-war-peace-talks-drone-attacks-0c2e0a4aeccd86c3fe18edf5cc73b250\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">will not agree to<\/a>, that includes instating Russian as Ukraine&rsquo;s official language, limiting the size of its military force, and Ukraine pledging not to join NATO.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2138827\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2138827\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hegseth will miss NATO meeting on Ukraine in Brussels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2442677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Hegseth.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[29030,45173,50459,6991],"class_list":["post-2442676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-brussels","tag-hegseth","tag-nato-2","tag-ukraine"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Hegseth.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2442676"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2442680,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442676\/revisions\/2442680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2442677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2442676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2442676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2442676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}