Hegseth says US will ‘impose costs’ on Russia if ‘no path to peace in the short term’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Wednesday that the U.S. will “impose costs” on Russia if there is “no path to peace in the short term” in Moscow’s war with Ukraine.
“If there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States, along with our allies, will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression,” Hegseth said at the NATO defense meeting in Brussels. “If we must take this step, the U.S. War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do.”
The Defense secretary also argued that the “most effective deterrence” to Russia’s “aggression” is a “lethal, capable and European-led NATO.”
And he said a “combat credible” Ukrainian military will need to be able to defend itself and “thereby continue to deter Russian aggression along NATO’s border.”
President Trump has pressured European allies to impose harsher sanctions against Russia as a way to slow down the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Last month, the European Commission proposed a 19th package of sanctions against Russia.
“Our sanctions bite. They have a visible impact on Russia’s public finances and economic growth. The European Union must reinforce these efforts collectively with its partners until peace is achieved,” Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief, said at the time.
In the U.S., senators have garnered more than 85 co-sponsors for a bipartisan sanctions bill that would penalize countries that purchase oil, gas and other resources from Russia. The White House has not yet given the green light to the senators to move on the legislation.
Hegseth told NATO allies Wednesday to boost their purchases of U.S. weapons for Ukraine.
“You get peace when you are strong. Not when you use strong words or wag your fingers, you get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect,” the Pentagon head said ahead of his meeting with NATO defense leaders.
The Defense secretary also said “firepower” was coming for Ukraine, as Trump has been considering sending long-range Tomahawk missiles to the country.
Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, where the topic of Tomahawk missiles will likely come up.
“I have the president coming in on Friday. I know what he has to say. He wants weapons. He would like to have Tomahawks. Everyone else wants to, and we have a lot of Tomahawks,” Trump said Tuesday.