Ukraine's European allies breathed a sigh of relief on Friday when US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a virtual appearance at talks held to coordinate military assistance to Ukraine.
Until then, it wasn't clear whether the Pentagon chief would take part at all.
"He is traveling, but was determined to join us," UK Defense Secretary John Healey said of his US counterpart, as he called the meeting of some 50 countries to order at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group was founded by Hegseth's predecessor, Lloyd Austin, in 2022 after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, drawing in countries far beyond the NATO military alliance to monthly meetings where they were regularly challenged to increase their military contributions to Kyiv.
With the Trump administration now focused on getting Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table, Friday's meeting was instead chaired by the UK and Germany.
Germany says US 'reliability' has 'clearly changed'
Having other countries lead the group is something many Europeans had hoped would be a temporary arrangement. Former Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told DW that this setup with the US taking a back seat was "presented, at least to the outside world, as a one-off thing."
"Now it seems as more of a withdrawal on the US side from this coordinating institution," Ollongren said, adding: "I don't know how to read that."
As he arrived at NATO on Friday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was candid about the uncertainty surrounding Washington's future role.
"It would be unfair to ignore the fact that the US administration has changed course," he told reporters. "The passion and reliability with which the United States has supported Ukraine over the past three years, particularly under the leadership of Lloyd Austin, has clearly changed."
New pledges from European allies
Sources close to the talks told DW that Hegseth's remarks to the group were "matter-of-fact," repeating messages NATO nations have already heard from the Trump administration and featuring no new demands.
But they also said there were no new pledges of US support for Ukraine — in keeping with the trend since Trump took office.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, however, seemed undeterred.
"The US is beside us and focused on the peace, and we're working together. Our job is to make it happen," he told reporters.
Germany was among a number of countries which did announce billions of euros in new military aid for Ukraine, including significant pledges of additional air defense, drones, tanks and ammunition.
But what was happening outside Brussels may prove much more pivotal for Ukraine's future. As the support group wrapped up at NATO headquarters, US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Russia for fresh talks on ending the war.
Rosie Birchard also contributed to this article.
Edited by: Martin Kuebler