WATCH: Fox News Anchor Presses Pete Hegseth On Whether ‘Russia Attacked Unprovoked Into Ukraine’ — Defense Secretary Dodges
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to solely blame Russia for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine on Sunday, telling Fox News he believed the situation was more complex.
As his boss, President Donald Trump, seeks to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, he has resorted to attacking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Last week Trump called Zelensky a dictator and implied Ukraine played a role in its own invasion.
Sunday morning, Trump administration officials were seemingly unified in a singular message – that Ukraine was not an innocent party.
Top Trump White House diplomat Steve Witkoff told CNN the war was “provoked” but added, “It doesn’t necessarily mean it was provoked by the Russians.”
Witkoff added Russia had made a case it felt threatened over discussions about Ukraine joining NATO.
On Fox News Sunday, Hegseth told anchor Shannon Bream that painting Russia as the war’s villain was an oversimplification of what he called a “complicated situation.”
“We know who invaded who,” Hegseth said. “America, more than any other country in the world, has invested in helping Ukraine defend itself. Now it’s time for peace, and that’s what the president is dedicated to.”
Bream pressed Hegseth about a reluctance among Trump administration officials to state in no uncertain terms that Russia was the aggressor.
Hegseth replied that “finger-pointing” and “pearl-clutching” three years into the war was unproductive.
“So standing here and saying you’re good, you’re bad, you are a dictator, you are not a dictator, you invaded, you didn’t – it’s not useful, it’s not productive,” Hegseth said. “President Trump isn’t getting drawn into that in unnecessary ways. As a result, we are closer to peace today than ever before.”
Bream asked, “But, fair to say, Russia attacked unprovoked into Ukraine three years ago tomorrow?”
Hegseth replied, “Fair to say it’s a very complicated situation.”
Watch above via Fox News.
