Ukraine’s backers meet to drum up arms and ammo. The Pentagon chief is absent for the first time

BRUSSELS AP Senior agents from almost nations gathered Wednesday to drum up more weapons and ammunition for Ukraine with the Pentagon s chief absent for the first time since the group organizing the military aid was set up three years ago The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters is going to be chaired by the United Kingdom and Germany U S Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would only arrive in Brussels after it s over He will participate in a meeting of NATO defense ministers on Thursday Related Articles US- and Israeli-backed group pauses food delivery in Gaza after deadly shootings Several feared dead in a stampede outside a cricket stadium in India Iran s supreme leader criticizes US proposal in nuclear talks but doesn t reject the idea of a deal This day in History June the Tiananmen Square Massacre Spanish regime says housing domain is not a free for all after latest crackdown on Airbnb His absence is the latest in a series of strategies that Washington has taken to distance itself from Ukraine s efforts to repel Russia s full-scale invasion which began on Feb More than Ukrainian civilians have been killed according to U N estimates as well as tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides Before Wednesday s meeting the U K revealed that it plans a tenfold increase in drone production to help Ukraine Drones have become a decisive factor in the war now in its fourth year U K Defense Secretary John Healey explained that British companies are using lessons learned from the battlefield to develop advanced new drones to help protect Ukraine s civilians and also strengthen our own national safety Hegseth s predecessor Lloyd Austin created the group after Russia launched all-out war on Ukraine in Since then Ukraine s backers have collectively provided around billion in weapons and military assistance including more than billion from the U S The United States hasn t chaired a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group since the Trump administration took office in January European NATO allies are concerned that the U S might withdraw troops from Europe to focus on the Indo-Pacific French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that abandoning Ukraine would erode U S credibility in deterring any conflict with China over Taiwan