Yuri Kobzar21:29, 23.05.25

For three years, this department was perhaps the most important in the Pentagon, but now the US has other priorities.

The Trump administration intends to downgrade the status of the Pentagon’s “Ukrainian” department , which has been perhaps the most important in the US Department of Defense in recent years. This is reported by  Defense News , citing three former Pentagon officials and two European officials.

As part of a broader reshuffle of the Pentagon’s policy apparatus, the department responsible for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia will be transferred to a separate department that will deal with European and NATO issues, the sources said. It is noted that this will not stop its work and will not necessarily lead to the dismissal of employees, but it indicates a sharp change in the priorities of the new US government compared to their predecessors.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the previously relatively little-known office has become a key one, helping shape U.S. policy on the war and overseeing a vast amount of military aid to Kyiv. The department also played a key role in creating the “Ramstein format,” a group of 50 countries that coordinate military aid to Ukraine.

Multiple sources stressed that the decision is not yet final, and that any changes would be part of a broader reorganization.

“Sources see the potential change as a sign of the Pentagon’s overall low-priority approach to Ukraine during the second Trump administration,” the publication says.

The publication notes that after a week-long pause in March, the United States is still helping Ukraine with intelligence and sending previously planned aid. But Congress has not approved any additional funding programs to continue these efforts, and the Pentagon has not requested them.

Trump is changing US foreign policy priorities

As UNIAN reported, according to sources, Trump has directly stated to European leaders that he has no intention of forcing Russia to make peace with new sanctions or new aid to Ukraine. Instead, he proposes leaving Ukraine and Russia to sort things out among themselves .

This is not a big sensation, because Trump has previously said publicly several times that he is ready to withdraw from the peace process if he does not see any progress.

(C)UNIAN 2025