Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend a meeting of 50 defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels on 4 June.

This marks the first time in three years a Pentagon chief has skipped the Ukraine Defense Contact Group gathering since 2022, when the group was established on US initiative

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group will convene at NATO headquarters on 4 June, three years after the  first gather.

The Contact Group initially brought together 40 countries. NATO and EU members joined with international partners to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.

The United Kingdom and Germany will convene the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters this year. The previous Ramstein format meeting took place on 11 April in Brussels. The UK and Germany also convened that meeting.

The Trump administration has distanced itself from the group. The UK and Germany took over leadership of the group in February. This happened after Hegseth said the US would no longer play a role in the monthly meetings. 

Hegseth will be in Brussels for the meeting of NATO defense ministers on 5 June. His place at 4 June Ukraine Defense Contact Group will be taken by US ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker, according to a defense official and two people familiar with their plans.

The Ukraine gathering comes three weeks before NATO’s annual summit in The Netherlands on 24-25 June. Leaders from across the alliance will attend that two-day event. President Donald Trump will likely command an outsize presence as European leaders wait for the administration’s Europe and Russia policies to come into focus.

Ambassador Whitaker said last month that the US will begin talks with allies later this year about potential troop withdrawals from Europe. Nothing has been decided. Hegseth warned during his first visit to NATO in February that the American military presence in Europe was “not forever.” The comment sent ripples of concern throughout the alliance.

Hegseth also admonished European leaders for not spending enough on defense during that meeting. He controversially laid down preconditions for Ukraine to meet before entering peace talks with Russia. These included forgoing an invitation to join NATO and not asking for a return to its pre-invasion borders.

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group, known as the Ramstein format, will convene at NATO headquarters on 4 June, the Alliance’s press service announced.

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group was established on US initiative in April 2022. Three years ago, Ukraine’s allies first gathered in this format at Ramstein Air Base. At that time, the Contact Group brought together 40 countries, including NATO and EU members and their international partners, to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

According to the press service, the United Kingdom and Germany will convene the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters next week.

The previous Ramstein format meeting took place on 11 April in Brussels. It was also convened by the United Kingdom and Germany.

Following changes in the US administration, Ramstein continues to operate under British and German leadership, while the US remains an important participant in the Contact Group. Previous Ramstein meetings under the Joe Biden administration, beginning in 2022, were chaired by the United States.

At the 11 April meeting, Germany and other countries created an “electronic warfare coalition” for Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Ramstein participants from Kryvyi Rih, calling for the provision of 10 Patriot systems. The Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih on 4 April was the deadliest single attack on children in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s all-out war.

The day after the Ramstein meeting, on 5 June, NATO defense ministers will meet at the Alliance’s headquarters to prepare for the bloc’s leaders’ summit in The Hague in June.