On June 8, 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had diverted 20,000 anti-drone missiles—systems that had been promised to Ukraine and were essential for protecting civilians from ongoing Russian war crimes. This redirection was made solely by Hegseth and was not ordered by President Trump.
Though inexpensive, these anti-drone systems were vital. They had been used to defend against Vladimir Putin’s relentless targeting of civilian populations and infrastructure across Ukraine. Their sudden withdrawal raises a grave question: Why did Pete Hegseth unilaterally cancel the delivery of 20,000 life-saving defensive units at the very moment Putin was escalating his attacks on civilians?
Hegseth’s decision came as the White House publicly criticized Ukraine for a successful strike against Russian military targets involved in civilian massacres. The timing suggests not only a strategic contradiction, but a moral abdication.
The missile transfer was originally finalized under the Biden administration as part of an effort to blunt Russia’s use of Iranian-designed Shahed drones—deadly loitering munitions central to Moscow’s campaign of terror against civilian centers. The drones, provided by Tehran, have been used with devastating effect against hospitals, city centers, schools, children’s playgrounds and apartment blocks.
Now, in a moment when the current administration is touting a tougher military stance against Iran’s nuclear program, Hegseth’s reversal only strengthens the deadly alliance between Tehran and Moscow—two authoritarian regimes united in their sponsorship of terrorism and contempt for civilian life.
What Is Behind Pete Hegseth’s Deadly Decision?
Why would Hegseth deny inexpensive, promised, life saving aid for the innocent victims of Putin’s warcrimes? While more details continue to emerge, a disturbing portrait is already taking shape. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appears to have been influenced by a dangerous coalition of pro-Russian ideologues, intelligence skeptics, and political opportunists. His recent decision to halt life-saving aid to Ukraine comes amid mounting evidence of hostility toward Ukraine, erosion of U.S. defense strategy against Russia, and an apparent bid to salvage a scandal-plagued tenure by appealing to the Kremlin-sympathetic faction of his political base—both inside the White House and across the country.
Certain facts are indisputable…
1. The Aid Withholding Came Days After Operation Spiderweb’s Success
Operation Spiderweb—Ukraine’s unprecedented long-range drone strike on Russian airfields deep inside enemy territory—represented a historic military and psychological victory. Ukraine successfully demilitarized assets used in the killing of civilians, without causing any civilian casualties themselves. The Trump Administration including Hegseth was uniformed about the strike. The White House responded with criticism of Ukraine, and President Trump appeared to give tacit approval to Putin for a retaliatory strike. Around that same day, Hegseth abruptly canceled the delivery of 20,000 anti-drone missiles. The timing suggest political retaliation or a realignment of sympathies away from Kyiv and toward appeasing Moscow.
2. Putin Escalated Civilian Attacks—and Hegseth Remained Silent
Since Hegseth’s installation at the Pentagon, Vladimir Putin has intensified his assault on Ukrainian civilians, deploying Iranian-made Shahed drones to terrorize cities, schools, and hospitals. The toll has been catastrophic—entire families wiped out, generations destroyed. Yet through it all, Secretary Hegseth has not publicly condemned a single Russian atrocity. Instead, he has echoed the language of Vice President J.D. Vance and others who mourn dead Russian combatants, while reducing Ukrainian victims to passing footnotes.
3. Undermining U.S. Defense While Abandoning Ukraine
While asserting that America will remain globally engaged, Hegseth has made it clear that this engagement will not include the defense of Ukraine or broader European security. He has prioritized military escalation elsewhere—conducting frequent airstrikes in Yemen, expanding arms deals with Saudi Arabia, and accelerating support to Israel—yet he has actively sabotaged pre-approved aid to Ukraine. In doing so, he has weakened U.S. deterrence, degraded our intelligence posture against Russia, and signaled to adversaries that America’s word is no longer reliable.
4. A Pattern of Betrayal: Two Strikes Against Ukraine
This is not Hegseth’s first offense. On February 3, 2025, he unilaterally halted military shipments to Ukraine without notifying key allies or the White House. That act sparked bipartisan outrage and forced a reluctant reversal days later. Now, just months later, he has again undermined U.S. commitments—this time by blocking the delivery of 20,000 defensive units critical to protecting Ukrainian civilians from drone warfare. In both cases, Hegseth acted without consensus, protocol, or moral clarity.
5. The ‘Signal-Gate’ Scandals and Pentagon Chaos
Hegseth is in the midst of multiple scandals and controversies. He has responded to each through an absence of transparency, histrionic behavior and finger-pointing, matched by efforts to present himself as a muscular leader -- all while going to great length to shore up his base with the "woke Right" element of his political community;
He has been at the center of two "Signal-gate" scandals, in which leaked messages from encrypted chats revealed anti-European and anti-NATO sentiments among senior Cabinet personnel. These leaks also suggest internal confusion, poor coordination and breaches of confidentiality and security protocols, which make have placed American servicemen at risk.
Back at the Pentagon, Hegseth has fired top level political appointees and former friends, accusing them of leaks and possible crimes in what some believe to be a diversionary tactic away from his own scandals. The Pentagon itself has been described by sources within as in a state of total chaos and upheaval.
6. Pro-Russian Voices in His Inner Circle
Hegseth’s staff includes advisers with longstanding ties to anti-interventionist, pro-Russian think tanks. Chief among them is Dan Caldwell, a former executive at Concerned Veterans for America, who was placed on administrative leave after reports surfaced tying him to leaked internal policy drafts aimed at dismantling Ukraine aid programs. Multiple other aides have aligned themselves with narratives that mirror Russian state propaganda.
Most recently. Hegseth appointed 27-year old Kingsley Wilson as Press Secretary for the Pentagon. Wilson has publicly expressed pro-Russia sympathy, bolstered anti-Ukraine slants, praised Russian-aligned political groups abroad, and echoed antisemitic content—all aligning disturbingly with the Kremlin’s information operations.
7. Dodging International Coordination and Undermining NATO
In an unprecedented move, Secretary Hegseth recently skipped a high-level international summit on organizing continued military support for Ukraine. His absence was widely viewed as a snub to NATO and an affirmation of his ideological departure from U.S.-European solidarity. Coupled with his team’s derogatory references to European allies in leaked chats, this signals a dangerous unraveling of American leadership on the world stage.
Final Thought
Pete Hegseth’s decision to block life-saving aid to Ukraine is not an isolated policy error—it is part of a broader pattern of abandonment, ideological drift, and reckless disregard for human life and international commitments. His choices may prove fatal—not only for innocent civilians in Ukraine but for the credibility of the United States as a defender of freedom and justice.
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DW Phillips is a filmmaker, attorney and journalist who directs Ukraine Story, a foundation for documentary reporting.
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