Hegseth tells Europe to fund Ukraine; Trump ready to negotiate an end to Russia-Ukraine war

In a sea change from previous U.S. policy positions, Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that "Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine" and that Washington will "no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship' with its allies."

The statement comes as President Donald Trump said also on Wednesday that he is ready to negotiate to end the Russia-Ukraine War after speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The U.S. is no longer primarily focused on Europe, Hegseth went on. This is a major change from the last 75 years when America was the primary guarantor of security on that continent.

'We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskiy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,' Trump said in a Truth Social post.

"Unrealistic"

Hegseth said the U.S. would not send troops to Ukraine to enforce any deal that was struck, something that had been requested by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He also called a return to pre-2014 borders "unrealistic," something Ukraine and Zelenskyy had hoped for.

"The United States remains committed to the NATO alliance and to the defense partnership with Europe, full stop," he said. "But the United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency."

Another of Zelenskyy's hopes, that of joining NATO, was also dashed.

In a Fox News interview that aired Monday, Trump said that Ukraine "may be Russian someday," which further unsettled those who think Ukraine's victory against Russia is a must.

"Honesty" the new policy

Was Trump being realistic about Ukraine's chances without hundreds of billions of dollars in aid from the U.S., or was he expressing what he wants to happen?

Those convinced Trump really did collude with Russia before his first term in 2016 will have a definite opinion here.

"Honesty will be our policy going forward," Hegseth said on Wednesday.

After nearly two years of bloodshed and much too much U.S. involvement during that time, an end to the conflict is clearly what Trump wants.

To that end, Hegseth said, "The bloodshed must stop and this war must end."