US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday admitted that Russia was the aggressor in its war against Ukraine, even as he refused to state that it was in America’s interest for Moscow to lose and Ukraine to win.
Hegseth, who appeared before the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee to defend his department’s budget planning, faced a second day of grilling - this time from senators, about the Trump administration’s effort to end the Ukraine war by drawing in Russia
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the former majority leader and one of three Republicans who opposed Hegseth’s confirmation early this year, led the criticism empathizing that America’s reputation was “on the line.”
“Will we defend Democratic allies against authoritarian aggressors?” McConnell, who currently chairs the panel that controls defense funding, asked Hegseth, adding, “Who’s the aggressor, and who’s the victim in the conflict?”
Hegseth, who had been criticized for often dodging when faced similar questions in the past, replied: “Russia is the aggressor.”
In the meantime, he refrained from saying that Ukraine was a victim in the war. “As we’ve said time and time again, this President is committed to peace in that conflict,” the Pentagon head insisted, when pressed by McConnell which side he wanted to win.“Ultimately, peace serves our national interests, and we think the interests of both parties, even if that outcome will not be preferable to many in this room and many in our country,” he replied.
Hegseth’s concession that Russia was the aggressor comes just weeks after another Trump cabinet member, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Putin a “war criminal” when pressed by lawmakers under similar circumstances.
On May 22, the top US diplomat Marco Rubio urged to address Russian aggression ‘adequately’ as he also dodged branding Putin war criminal during congressional panels in the Senate and House.
While the Pentagon head refrained from offering further comments on Russian aggression, he took the opportunity to boast of Trump’s decision to provide Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine during his first term, and credited the move with blunting Moscow’s advance during the initial part of the invasion in 2022. But Democrats later reminded him of the fact that Trump had been impeached for, in fact, delaying Javelins for Ukraine in an attempt to use the move to bargain with Kyiv for his own domestic political agenda.
Regarding Trump’s current peace efforts in Ukraine, Hegseth said “even if we understand that Russia is the aggressor and we applaud the efforts of the Ukrainians, there is a moment where you have to recognize what exists on the battlefield and that a better outcome is a negotiated peace to stop the killing and stop the slaughter.”
“Which side is President Xi pulling for?” continued McConnell, with a question that appeared to trip up the former Fox news anchor. “There’s no doubt that China would prefer that Vladimir Putin have a good outcome,” Hegseth eventually conceded after providing a complicated answer in which he pointed fingers at the Biden administration’s policies.
He then added that China “would also prefer a prolonged conflict that would keep us and other countries tied down and incapable of paying attention” to its malign influence elsewhere.
McConnell replied by adding that “we don’t want a headline at the end of this conflict that says ‘Russia Wins and America Loses’.
“And given the fact that all of our adversaries are communicating with each other, that’s extremely important if we’re going to continue to play the role in the world that the vast majority of members of Congress think we should still play,” he said.
Later in the hearing, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also pressed Hegseth on whether he believed Putin would stop his expansion ambitions.
When Hegseth responded by saying it “remains to be seen,” the South Carolina senator pushed back: “Well [Putin] says he’s not… It doesn’t remain to be seen. He tells everybody around what he wants to do,” Graham said. “Russia will dismember Ukraine and keep going if we don’t stop them.”
Hegseth was also pressed on recent reports that the Pentagon diverted thousands of anti-drone missiles originally intended for Ukraine to American forces in the Middle East, a move that he appeared to confirm without offering further details.
“Is there any plan to provide Ukraine with the necessary technology to replace those anti-drone defenses?” asked Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS).
“We would have to review the capacity,” Hegseth responded, adding “but it’s one of the challenges of all the munitions that we’ve given to Ukraine over these three years.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, Senators also focused on how America’s spending in Ukraine impacts the budget which, as Hegseth put it, “puts the onus on Europe to step up spending” for Russia’s war.
“Europe needs to wake up,” the Pentagon chief emphasized.