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BRUSSELS — It was the moment Europeans and Ukrainians have been dreading for months, if not years.
Yet when it finally came, on a wintry afternoon as Kyiv froze in icy temperatures, the suddenness and scale of Donald Trump’s peace plan still left Ukraine’s allies in shock.
The United States has effectively called time on its support for Ukraine as it resists Russia’s invasion, with Trump announcing immediate negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and telling Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to give up hope of taking back all the land Russia has seized.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the first to divulge America’s position at a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Hegseth told his counterparts gathered in the Belgian capital that Zelenskyy had no chance of achieving his goal of kicking Russian forces out of Crimea and the east of the country and returning Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders.
“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” Hegseth said.
He then warned that America will be pulling back from its commitments to European security, renouncing the historic role it has played since the end of World War II, and set out a stark vision in which European governments will bear primary responsibility for their own defense — as well as for that of Ukraine.
Soon after, Trump extinguished any hope the cold new reality could be avoided. “I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” the U.S. president said in a post on social media.
“We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation … Millions of people have died in a War that would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, so it must end. No more lives should be lost!”
Get it done
Zelenskyy put a brave face on the situation, summarizing in a post on X what he called a “meaningful” conversation with Trump. “President Trump shared details of his conversation with Putin,” the Ukraine president said. “No one wants peace more than Ukraine. Together with the U.S., we are charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace. As President Trump said, let’s get it done.”
European diplomats seemed unsure how to respond as they tried to process the details of Hegseth and Trump’s announcements. The brutal truth is — at a European Union level at least — relations with the new White House are so bad as to be virtually non-existent. There was no immediate comment from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen or the bloc’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas.
Some of Ukraine’s allies elsewhere in Europe were more forthright in their rejection of Trump’s approach, especially his decision to devise a peace plan directly with Putin, and apparently only involving Ukraine’s leader as an afterthought.
“We have always underlined that … there will be no decision made on Ukraine without Ukraine,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told journalists. “Peace can only be achieved together. And that means: with Ukraine, and with the Europeans.”
Speaking to POLITICO, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said: “Ukrainian agency in any peace talks is crucially important.”
No NATO
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Ukraine needed more military backing before opening talks with Putin. “Poland will unwaveringly seek intensified military support for Ukraine,” he said. “The reinforcement of Ukraine capabilities before potential discussions with Russia is crucial for our continent.”
France was also at odds with the American position, insisting Ukraine should remain on a path to joining NATO. Earlier, Hegseth had effectively ruled that out, at least as part of any security guarantee accompanying a peace deal. He also ruled out the participation of U.S. troops in any peacekeeping mission, and said NATO as an organization should not be involved.
“We are very attached to a pathway for Ukraine towards NATO. If there is a peace, we need security guarantees so that it is fair and lasting,” said Jean-Noël Barrot, the French foreign minister. “It’s European security that is at stake with this war of aggression — that has upset the world order and means we cannot return to the world before the invasion.”
In his announcement, Trump said a team will begin talking with Putin’s representatives straightaway. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be joined by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz as part of the American negotiating team. “I believe this effort will lead to a successful conclusion, hopefully soon!” Trump said.
Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the foreign relations committee in the Ukrainian parliament, said Hegseth’s comments were “illogical.”
“The new security secretary should simply start by coming to Ukraine and getting acquainted with the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Merezhko said. “Ukraine can return all of its territory, this is absolutely real. But for this to happen, more military-technical assistance from the United States and stronger sanctions are needed — in particular, U.S. financial sanctions against the Russian economy.”
British officials said they agreed that Europe should do more. “We hear you,” U.K. Defense Minister John Healey said in response to Hegseth’s comments. “On stepping up for Ukraine, we are and we will. On stepping up for European security, we are and we will.”
Veronika Melkozerova and Gabriel Gavin contributed to this report.
