Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, it turns out, will be participating in the April 11 meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group afterall, though not in person. Defense News had reported on April 2 that Hegseth would not be participating and that even senior Pentagon officials would be unlikely to attend.
Military Times reported on April 8 that European and American officials wondered whether Hegseth would join in the weeks prior, with some last week indicating he might skip it. Even joining via teleconference is better than passing altogether, multiple European officials said. Still, they would have preferred him to attend in person and broadly remain unsure of America’s commitment to supporting Ukraine and European defense as a whole.
Hegseth’s apparent change of heart is not explained.
The meeting will be co-chaired by the U.K. and Germany. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the head of U.S. European Command, will join the summit in person, but in his NATO role as Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Gen Curtis Buzzard, the head of a separate security assistance group for Ukraine, will also attend.
