The US president will ultimately decide the matter, according to his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
The final decision on whether to provide nuclear weapons to Ukraine rests with US President Donald Trump, and the possibility of such a move has not been ruled out, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has stated in an interview with Breitbart published on Thursday.
The issue has been raised by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, who has argued that Ukraine must either be fast-tracked into NATO or given more weaponry as a security guarantee in case of a potential peace deal. Hegseth has described Kiev’s ambitions to recover its 2014 borders as “unrealistic,” saying Ukraine should prepare for a negotiated peace, potentially supported by international troops.
The US Defense Secretary, clarified that his remarks should not be construed as ultimatums, but that they reflect “realism,” and that it is ultimately up to Trump to decide on the matter.
“I’m not the one that declares a red line or not. I work with the president, as we work through these issues, but we believed that it was useful just to speak some reality into the conversation,” he said. “Ultimately, President Trump is the only one who’s going to determine if there’s wiggle room or movement on any particular position.”
On Friday, Trump backed his defense secretary’s comments that Kiev must accept the reality that returning to pre-2014 borders is not feasible, and that its NATO membership is off the table.
The US president has repeatedly blamed the Ukraine conflict on his predecessor Joe Biden’s support for Kiev’s NATO ambitions, claiming the hostilities would never have broken out under his leadership.
He reiterated this view following a lengthy phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday – marking the first confirmed contact between the country’s leaders since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Zelensky, whom Trump called the same day, after his talk with Putin, later told reporters it was “not pleasant” that Kiev had not been contacted first, but described his own conversation with Trump as a “really good discussion.”
Hegseth has dismissed claims that Trump’s engagement with Russia was a sign of weakness.
“The reason Vladimir Putin and Zelensky are at the table is because of President Trump’s strength, because of American strength,” he asserted, noting “It didn’t happen under Joe Biden. It didn’t happen for years.”
The US president has said he understands Russia’s concerns about Ukraine joining NATO and that Kiev would not become part of the bloc under any settlement.
Moscow has consistently opposed Ukraine’s NATO ambitions, citing the bloc’s eastward expansion as a threat to national security and describing it as a key factor behind the ongoing conflict. The Kremlin has insisted that Ukraine must adopt a neutral status as part of any future peace agreement. At the same time, Putin has also said that Moscow cannot sign a deal with Zelensky, arguing that he no longer has legitimacy as the country’s leader.
Moscow has also strongly condemned Zelensky’s statements on obtaining nuclear weapons, with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warning that such rhetoric exposes him as “a maniac, who considers the planet as an object for his sick delusions.”
