Hegseth, Vance appear to give different answers on sending troops to Ukraine

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Friday that “the reality of U.S. troops in Ukraine is unlikely,” but insisted that there was “no daylight” between himself and Vice President JD Vance.

In a bilateral press conference with Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Hegseth touched on the possibility of U.S. troops going into Ukraine. At first, he appeared to shut down the idea, but then he seemed to not take it entirely off the table. 

Hegseth added that he would “never put constraints around what the President of the United States would be willing to negotiate with the sovereign leaders of both Russia and Ukraine.”

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On Thursday, in an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal, Vance reportedly said that the option of sending U.S. troops to Ukraine remained “on the table.”  

Vance also told the outlet that the U.S. could use “economic tools” or “military tools” against Russia to bring about an end to the nearly three-year-long war. The vice president said that President Donald Trump wants “a productive negotiation” with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also teased a deal that would “shock a lot of people.”

Vance is in Germany for the Munich Security Conference, where he is expected to meet with Zelenskyy.

The vice president’s remarks appear contrast with what Hegseth told the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels earlier this week. In his opening remarks to the group, Hegseth said that rather than admitting Ukraine to NATO, security guarantees to the country would be supported “by capable European and non-European troops.” However, he also appeared to completely rule out the possibility of U.S. troops

“To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine,” he said.

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At the Munich Security Conference, Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker, R-Ms., told Politico that he was “puzzled” and “disturbed” by Hegseth’s remarks in Brussels.

“Everybody knows … and people in the administration know you don’t say before your first meeting what you will agree to and what you won’t agree to,” Sen. Wicker told Politico, classifying Hegseth’s comments as a “rookie mistake.”

Trump has long spoken about ending the war between Ukraine and Russia, often asserting that it would not have started had he been in the Oval Office.

On Wednesday, Trump announced that in a “lengthy and highly productive” phone call Putin agreed to “immediately” begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump said he asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to lead the negotiations, saying he thinks they “will be successful.”