Summary
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth struggled to answer what Russia would concede in Ukraine peace talks, instead defending the Trump administration’s negotiations.
His comments at NATO suggested Ukraine would have to give up NATO membership and lost territory, sparking backlash. Critics, including John Bolton, argued the deal was Kremlin propaganda.
Hegseth later attempted to walk back his remarks, but experts said he had already ceded too much to Russia.
Trump’s denial of ordering a retraction failed to quell concerns over Hegseth’s inexperience and the administration’s approach.
A deal is when Ukraine also benefits something from it. From these “peace” talks, Ukraine only has loss and russia has time to recover for new attacks. Also usually you demand peace from the aggressor, which in this case it’s russia.