Hegseth warns Moscow it will pay a price if the war in Ukraine doesn't end

(Patria) - US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned Moscow that the United States and its allies will "impose a price on Russia for its continued aggression" if the war in Ukraine does not end, Reuters reported.

"If we must take this step, the US Department of War is ready to contribute in ways that only the United States can," Hegseth said yesterday at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which consists of Kyiv's allies at NATO headquarters.

His comments came as the administration of US President Donald Trump is considering Ukraine's request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.

"Now is the time to end this tragic war, stop the unnecessary bloodshed, and come to the peace table," Hegseth said.

"This is not a war that started during President Trump's term, but it will end during his term."

Hegseth called on NATO allies to increase spending on the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine, following a report that highlighted a sharp decline in Western military support for Kyiv in July and August.

"You get peace when you are strong. Not when you use strong words or wag your finger, you get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect," he said at NATO headquarters earlier that day.

Hegseth called on allies to increase investments in Ukraine's Priority Requirements List (PURL) program, which has replaced US weapons donations to Ukraine and now requires allies to pay for US weapons deliveries.

"Our expectation today is that more countries will donate more, buy more to provide for Ukraine, to bring this conflict to a peaceful end."

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he expects further pledges, noting that $2 billion has already been pledged through this mechanism.

New aid pledges from Sweden, Finland, and Estonia

However, this amount is less than the $3.5 billion that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoped to secure by October.

Sweden, Estonia, and Finland pledged contributions on Wednesday. But major powers like France and the United Kingdom have not made such commitments, despite Hegseth's call for all of Kyiv's allies to contribute to the PURL program.

"Now... is the time for all NATO countries to turn words into deeds in the form of PURL investments. All countries at this table, no free riders," Hegseth said at the start of the Contact Group meeting.

Kyiv is heavily reliant on American weapons as it prepares for another winter of heavy conflict with Russia, which now holds about twenty percent of Ukraine after three and a half years of full-scale invasion.

The Kiel Institute for the World Economy reported on Tuesday that average monthly military aid to Ukraine fell by 43% in July and August compared to the first half of the year.

According to the institute, most military support is now flowing through the PURL initiative, which by August had been joined by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.