February 12, 2025 10:17 AM UTC

You're Gonna Need an Actual Opinion on Ukraine, Gabe

• 5 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium today to do the bidding of President Trump and/or Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war in Ukraine. Hegseth made it clear that the new administration in the White House is not exactly pro-Ukraine.

As NBC News reports:

Hegseth said Wednesday that it is “unrealistic” to aim for a return to Ukraine’s borders as they were before 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and supported separatists who took over swaths of the country’s east.

The remarks are the clearest indication yet that the United States will support negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in which Ukraine cedes territory that’s already been seized by the Kremlin.

“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine,” Hegseth said in a speech during a trip to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels. “But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.”

“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he told a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, at which Western allies discuss Russia’s ongoing invasion. “We will only end this devastating war — and establish a durable peace — by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield.”

Hegseth’s remarks put meat on the bone of Trump’s radical departure from former President Joe Biden’s policy. Whereas Biden focused on all-out Ukrainian victory, Trump says he wants to end the war as quickly as possible. [Pols emphasis]

Or, to put a finer point on it, to end the war in Ukraine “as quickly as possible” while also awarding Russia vast swaths of Ukrainian territory.

Hegseth also made clear that the Trump administration opposes NATO membership for Ukraine and said that European nations will need to take the lead in helping Ukraine defend itself because the United States has to focus more on China. In short, Hegseth basically just opened up the door and said, Right this way, Mr. Putin!

This new positioning on Ukraine puts freshman Congressman Gabe Evans (R-Adams County) in a very weird spot. Back in December, “Gabe-ish” said a whole bunch of different things about his position on the war in Ukraine and America’s role in pushing back against Putin. One particular comment is going to be tough to square:

Evans was not wrong in saying, “Appeasing dictators just never works out,” but that was his opinion before he got to Congress and started appeasing Trump at every step.

What say you, now, Rep. Evans? As a former cop, we’re not TOTALLY rewarding Putin. We’re just offering a carrot…ish.

Evans served as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot in the Army, so his opinion here is absolutely relevant.

But does he have the courage to voice that opinion?