Hegseth to attend Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels

A statement from the U.S. Department of Defense said. 

It is noted that next week, Hegseth will visit Germany, Belgium, and Poland, where he will interact with allies “strengthening deterrence, supporting warfighters, and advancing America's national security interests”. 

First, the Pentagon chief will visit Germany and meet with local military officials. After that, he will travel to Brussels and join the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting.

“The Secretary will reiterate President Trump's commitment for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible.  He will also highlight the need for increased European leadership on security assistance to Ukraine,” the statement says.

His final stop will be Poland, where he will meet with Polish leaders to discuss our strong bilateral defense cooperation, continued deterrence efforts along NATO's eastern flank, and Poland's leadership as a model ally in defense investment and burden-sharing in NATO.

• Earlier, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group had agreed to meet in Brussels a week before the Munich Security Conference, which will be held on February 14-16.