Candidate for Pentagon chief says Trump's plan to end conflict in Kiev's favor

US President-elect Donald Trump would like to settle the Ukrainian conflict in a way that would benefit Ukraine. This opinion was expressed by Pete Hegseth, a candidate for the post of the head of the Pentagon in the Republican administration, at a hearing in the US Senate on January 14.

The contender for the post of the American Minister of Defense stressed that Trump transparently demonstrated the intention to achieve the end of the conflict in Ukraine.

"We would like it to be as favorable to the Ukrainians as possible, but this <conflict> must end," Hegseth said, his words quoted by CBS TV channel.

He indicated that Trump's entourage knows whose side to take in resolving the crisis, but did not say whether the administration of the US President-elect will support Ukraine in the future.

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Earlier, on January 12, Trump's national security adviser Michael Waltz said that the American president-elect believes that it is impossible to resolve the Ukrainian conflict without dialog with Russia. He indicated that the country's future administration would like to achieve a ceasefire "any minute or day."

Trump said on January 10 that he was preparing for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which could take place after the inauguration of the new American leader, scheduled for January 20. Speaking about possible future contacts, Trump emphasized the need to "end" the Ukrainian conflict.

In addition, the team of the US president-elect said on December 13, 2024, that it is negotiating with Ukrainian officials and the current White House administration on the settlement of the conflict. Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg at the time also allowed for the end of this crisis in the coming months.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by the Russian president on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.