Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Defense Secretary, faced strong criticism after his NATO headquarters speech, where he suggested Ukraine might never regain all of its territory and should abandon hopes of NATO membership.

Two percent is a start, as President Trump has said, but it’s not enough, nor is 3%, nor is 4% — more like 5%,” the defense secretary said in a speech in Brussels.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte briefed reporters on Thursday following a NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in Brussels. Before answering questions, Hegseth told NATO members that they must increase their defense spending from the current 2% of annual GDP.