Hegseth skips Ramstein summit, Europe steps up leadership
Pete Hegseth, a key Pentagon figure, will not attend the upcoming meeting of the Ramstein group, a coalition that has supported Ukraine since 2022.
Pete Hegseth, a key figure in the Pentagon, will not appear at the upcoming Ramstein group meeting, scheduled for 11 April. This group, comprising several dozen countries, has been supporting Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression since 2022. This information was reported by the portal Defence News, citing European and American sources.
The meeting on 11 April will be the first where the U.S. Secretary of Defence is absent. Previously, on 12 February, Hegseth participated in the group talks, but even then, the meeting was not under U.S. leadership. At the request of the United States, the United Kingdom led the meeting at that time. This time, the United Kingdom and Germany will assume leadership roles.
Hegseth's absence sends a signal to European partners that President Donald Trump's administration does not prioritise the issue of arming Ukraine. During the February meeting, Hegseth urged European ministers to seek greater independence in defence matters, rather than depending on the U.S.
The history of the Ramstein group
The Ramstein group was formed at the initiative of Hegseth's predecessor, Lloyd Austin, shortly after the Russian attacks on Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, it has managed to collect and coordinate $126 billion (£96 billion) in aid for Ukraine, of which about half originated from the United States.
Following Trump's election victory, European participants of the group began planning alternative operational formats. Celeste Wallander, a Pentagon official during Joe Biden's presidency, revealed that it was then decided that Germany and the United Kingdom would take over the initiative from the U.S.
