"Novice Mistake". The U.S. Senate clarified Hegseth's comments regarding Ukraine and the borders from 2014.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegset has acknowledged making a "rookie mistake." This can be interpreted in light of his statement that a return of Ukraine to its pre-war borders is "unrealistic."

https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/pomilka-novachka-senati-ssha-poyasnili-zayavi-1739565698.html2025-02-15 07:52:51

The U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has made a "rookie mistake." This can be interpreted from his statement that Ukraine's return to pre-war borders is "unrealistic."

This opinion was expressed by Roger Wicker, the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Politico.

"Hegseth will be an excellent Secretary of Defense, although I did not choose him for this role. But he made a rookie mistake in Brussels and walked back part of his words," the Republican Wicker told the publication in the corridors of the Munich Security Conference.

The senator added that he does not know who wrote Hegseth's speech, although it could have been written by Tucker Carlson, and "Carlson is a fool."

Moreover, Wicker, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, stated that he was "surprised" by Hegseth's initial comments about Ukraine and was "encouraged" that the new Pentagon chief changed his stance.

"Everyone knows… and people in the administration know that before the first meeting, you don't say what you agree to and what you don't," Wicker said, adding that he is still "perplexed" and "concerned" by Hegseth's comments.

What did Hegseth say?

Recently, the new head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth made a statement regarding Ukraine's return to the borders of 2014, calling such a scenario unrealistic. Additionally, according to him, the U.S. does not consider Ukraine's membership in NATO to be a realistic outcome of negotiations.

Later, RBK-Ukraine reported, citing sources, that NATO believes Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's statements do not rule out Ukraine's membership in NATO in the future. The discussion is that the issue of Euro-Atlantic integration will not be part of negotiations between Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow.

On February 14, Hegseth explained that his sharp statements about Ukraine and its prospects regarding the end of the war were intended to "bring realism to the conversation."