Hegseth again skipping Ukraine meeting, will send top lieutenant instead
Source: Politico
04/14/2026 10:36 AM EDT
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will again skip the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting this week, making the U.S. one of the few countries that won’t send a top civilian defense official to the critical gathering of Ukrainian allies.
Instead, the Pentagon’s policy chief Elbridge Colby will attend the virtual meeting just as he did for the last meeting in February, according to two U.S. officials who, like others in this story, were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Hegseth has only sporadically attended the meetings over the past year — a sign that the Trump administration has other priorities and increasingly expects Europe to shoulder the burden of supplying weapons to Kyiv.
Over 50 defense ministers from countries committed to supporting Ukraine will gather virtually on Wednesday. The meeting will be led by German defense minister Boris Pistorius and U.K. defense chief John Healey, who have taken over coordinating the group after the Trump administration gave up its leadership position soon after taking office.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/14/hegseth-again-skipping-ukraine-meeting-will-send-top-lieutenant-instead-00870901
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