The final decision on whether to provide nuclear weapons to Ukraine rests with US President Donald Trump, and the possibility has not been ruled out, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview with Breitbart published Thursday.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has pushed for either NATO membership or increased military support as a security guarantee in any potential peace deal. While Hegseth called Ukraine’s goal of reclaiming its 2014 borders “unrealistic,” he said Kiev should prepare for a negotiated settlement, potentially backed by international troops.
He clarified that his remarks were not ultimatums but reflected a sense of “realism,” emphasizing that Trump alone would make the final decision.
“I don’t set red lines—I work with the president as we assess these issues,” Hegseth said. “Ultimately, President Trump is the only one who will decide if there’s flexibility on any position.”
On Friday, Trump backed Hegseth’s assertion that Ukraine must accept it will not regain its pre-2014 borders and that NATO membership is off the table. The US president has repeatedly blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the Ukraine conflict, arguing that his support for Kiev’s NATO aspirations provoked the war—a scenario Trump insists would never have unfolded under his leadership.
Trump reaffirmed this stance after a lengthy phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, their first confirmed contact since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Later that day, he also spoke with Zelensky, who admitted it was “not pleasant” to be called second but described the conversation as “really good.”
Hegseth dismissed suggestions that Trump’s engagement with Russia signaled weakness.
“The reason Putin and Zelensky are at the table is President Trump’s strength—America’s strength,” he said. “It didn’t happen under Joe Biden. It didn’t happen for years.”
Trump has acknowledged Russia’s security concerns over Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and has stated that Kiev will not join the alliance under any peace agreement. Moscow has consistently opposed Ukraine’s NATO membership, citing the bloc’s eastward expansion as a threat and insisting Ukraine must adopt a neutral status in any settlement.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that Zelensky lacks legitimacy as Ukraine’s leader, making a deal with him impossible. The Kremlin has also condemned Zelensky’s statements on acquiring nuclear weapons. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described his rhetoric as proof that he is “a maniac who sees the planet as a stage for his delusions.”
Source: RT
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