Pentagon Ukraine hub could see downgrade in policy office reshuffle

Yahoo

23-05-2025

The Pentagon is likely to downgrade a policy office instrumental in the military's response to the war in Ukraine, according to three former U.S. defense officials and two European officials.
As part of a larger reshuffle of the Pentagon's policy apparatus, the office dedicated to Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia affairs would be shifted under a separate office that handles Europe and NATO issues, the sources said.
Doing so wouldn't stop its work or necessarily involve firing employees. Still, the shift would demote an office that until earlier this year had become one of the most important in the Pentagon.
Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the once relatively obscure office has helped shape U.S. policy toward the war and manage the vast sum of military aid sent to help support its self-defense.
Laura Cooper, its previous director, helped convene a group of 50 countries that has since met 27 times to raise and coordinate more than $130 billion in security assistance to Kyiv, with around half of that coming from the United States.
A Defense Department spokesperson didn't confirm the potential change, explain the rationale behind it or say whether any positions may be cut. Cooper departed in December, and a career civil servant now leads the office in an acting capacity.
Both offices report to the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, which currently lacks a fully confirmed director. Daniel Zimmerman, the nominee to lead it, is awaiting a full Senate vote.
Multiple sources stressed that the decision is not yet final, and that any changes would be part of a larger reorganization. It's not unusual for new policy chiefs to shift around their offices, one former official said, but multiple other sources saw the potential change as a sign of the Pentagon's overall lower-priority approach to Ukraine under the second Trump administration.
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's policy chief, has long argued that America should reduce its military support for Ukraine and shift resources toward Asia to deter China from invading Taiwan.
When visiting NATO headquarters in February, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argued that Europe needs to take control of its own security, including for Ukraine.
'Leaders of our European allies should take primary responsibility for defense of the continent,' Hegseth said.
As a practical matter, two former U.S. officials raised the concern that combining the offices would overwhelm the person in charge.
The Trump administration is considering drastic changes to U.S. security policy toward Europe, arguing countries on the continent should spend far more on their defense as America refocuses elsewhere. Meetings with David Baker, the official now leading the Europe and NATO office, have been in high demand as European countries try to understand the coming changes and prepare for the June NATO summit.
'It will be very hard for a single DASD to handle that many important [and] high maintenance countries,' a former U.S. defense official said, referring to a deputy assistant secretary of defense, or mid-level Pentagon official.
After a weeklong pause in March, the U.S. is still sharing intelligence with Ukraine and shipping previously scheduled aid. But Congress hasn't passed any more money to continue the effort, and the Pentagon hasn't asked for any.
The Defense Department has a little under $4 billion left in authority to ship weapons to Ukraine, but no money left to replace anything it sends.