AP has learned that the Pentagon chief in Brussels will not announce new aid to Kiev


US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will probably not announce new aid to Ukraine during his first foreign trip. This was reported by the Associated Press agency on February 11.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon chief will attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) at NATO headquarters Brussels under the British presidency. The AP noted that he will be the first member of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to visit the alliance headquarters.
"Hegseth is not expected to make any statement on new weapons for Ukraine. He is not scheduled to have one-on-one contacts with the Ukrainian side, rather he will be in the listener mode at the meeting," the agency wrote, citing an anonymous US official.
Earlier, on February 8, the Pentagon reported that during the UDCG meeting Hegseth intends to reaffirm the Trump administration's commitment to a diplomatic conclusion to the Ukrainian conflict. It was also noted that the defense secretary plans to emphasize the importance of strengthening alliances and improving defense readiness.
On January 28, the publication Axios reported that the United States transferred from Israel to Poland more than 90 anti-aircraft missiles of Patriot complex for further transfer to Ukraine. At the same time, according to the portal, the Jewish state informed Russia about this move in advance and emphasized that it was "only returning the Patriot system to the United States" and not supplying weapons to Ukraine.
On Jan. 20, Trump suspended U.S. development aid to other countries for 90 days by executive order. The rationale is that the "foreign aid industry" is not in Washington's interests, often contradicts U.S. values, and supports destabilization in the world.
Before that, on January 8, the outgoing presidential administration of Joe Biden allocated a new $500 million military aid package to Ukraine. It was specified then that Biden was trying to improve Kiev's negotiating position before the start of Trump's term.
Western countries have increased military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
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