The United States is no longer the sole guarantor of Europe’s security and is calling on NATO allies to increase defense spending. This statement was made by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
“The time for the United States as the sole guarantor of European security is over. This is long overdue. Europe must strengthen its military power and strengthen NATO,” Hegseth emphasized.
According to the head of the Pentagon, modern threats require a new approach to collective security. Therefore, the United States has already transferred leadership of the Contact Group on Ukrainian Defense to the United Kingdom and Germany. This, as the minister noted, indicates a change in emphasis in the system of Western defense cooperation.
He separately noted Poland’s commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defense, calling it an example for other members of the Alliance.
“2% is no longer enough, given the threats that a particular state may face,” Hegseth stressed, adding that the time has come to review defense budgets.
According to him, regional security requires not only the preservation of the Alliance, but also its active strengthening through the equal participation of each member state.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that if the United States leaves NATO, the Alliance may cease to exist, and the consequence will be a large-scale war in Europe.
“NATO will simply not exist if the United States leaves it,” Zelensky said.
It is known that the Trump administration has disbanded a special group of the US Department of Justice, which was engaged in documenting and investigating war crimes committed by the Russian Federation during the war in Ukraine.
Denis Molotov, IRTA-FAX
