Politico: Pentagon Chief Hegseth to miss “Ramstein” meeting again. Who will replace him

The US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will again not participate in the meeting of the Contact Group on Defense Issues in Ukraine ("Ramstein") on April 15.

Politico writes about this, citing American officials.

According to sources, Hegseth will be replaced at “Ramstein” by the head of the Pentagonʼs political division Elbridge Colby, who participated in the meeting last time, in February.

American officials believe that Hegsethʼs irregular participation in “Ramstein” meetings over the past year indicates a change in the priorities of the US presidential administration. Also, according to the publicationʼs sources, Washington expects that the main burden of military support for Ukraine will be borne by Europe.

NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Hrynkevich will also not participate in this meeting — he will be replaced by deputies from the United Kingdom and Germany.

However, the meeting on Wednesday, April 15, will be attended by more than 50 defense ministers of Ukraineʼs allies. It will be coordinated by the defense ministers of Germany and the United Kingdom — Boris Pistorius and John Healy, who took over this role after the United States withdrew from leadership of the group.

• We will remind, at the 33rd meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine in the “Ramstein” format in February, the partners reported military assistance worth almost $38 billion.

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