Published: June 4th, 2025,
Last updated: June 5th, 2025

Pete Hegseth yesterday became the first US Secretary of Defense to skip a meeting of Ukraine’s supporters. Following Donald Trump’s return to office, the United States had already relinquished leadership of the Ramstein Group. European allies downplayed the absence: There were no signs that the US would end its support, said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who co-chaired the meeting with his British counterpart John Healey for the second time.