Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plane was diverted on Wednesday on its way back to the U.S. from Brussels because of a crack in the plane’s windshield, forcing an unexpected stop in the United Kingdom.
“On the way back to the United States from NATO’s Defense Ministers meeting, Secretary of War Hegseth’s plane made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the aircraft windshield,” Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement on Wednesday.
News outlets refuse to sign Pentagon’s new press policy as deadline looms
“The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe,” Parnell added.
Hegseth during the meeting in Belgium warned the U.S. will “impose costs” on Russia if it continues to obstruct President Trump’s push for peace in Ukraine.
“If there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States, along with our allies, will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression,” Hegseth said. “If we must take this step, the U.S. War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do.”
The Defense secretary also argued that the “most effective deterrence” to Russia’s “aggression” is a “lethal, capable and European-led NATO.”
Hegseth touts push to replace heavyset National Guard troops in Illinois
And he said a “combat-credible” Ukrainian military will need to be able to defend itself and “thereby continue to deter Russian aggression along NATO’s border.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House on Friday.
