Pentagon chief to skip Ramstein meeting for first time

For the first time since the U.S. created an international group to coordinate military aid to Ukraine three years ago, the Pentagon chief will not attend a meeting of more than 50 other defense leaders on Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who returned Sunday from a national security conference in Singapore, will not arrive in Brussels until Wednesday night, after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting concludes, according to the Associated Press.

Hegseth will not participate via video link.

It's the latest in a series of steps the U.S. has taken to distance itself from the war in Ukraine.

And it comes just after French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the U.S. and others risk a dangerous double standard if its focus on a potential conflict with China comes at the cost of withholding aid to Ukraine.

Photo: Facebook/Pete Hegseth.