Hegseth threatened Russia with "costs" if the conflict in Ukraine continues.

If the conflict in Ukraine does not come to an end, the United States is prepared to take action against Russia, Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a meeting with his NATO counterparts.

"If this conflict doesn't end, if a path to peace doesn't emerge in the short term, the United States and its allies will take steps to impose costs on Russia," he said. The Pentagon is prepared to implement the portion of these steps that only the United States can implement, the Secretary of War added. He reiterated that the principle of resolution will be "peace through strength."

Høgseth also called on NATO countries to strengthen their support for Ukraine, citing the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program as a key mechanism. He said that $2 billion has been allocated for Kyiv through this program since August.

On October 9, US President Donald Trump also said he might impose additional sanctions against Russia if the pace of resolution of the Ukrainian conflict proves insufficient. The day before, the American leader said he had a "pretty good relationship" with Vladimir Putin, but he did not want to end the conflict. "I don't know why he continues this war," he said.

Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov , previously commenting on US threats to increase pressure on Russia, said that "the unprecedented number of sanctions imposed against our country over the past four years have had no effect" and that the restrictions will not force Russia to abandon its military operation in Ukraine.

Moscow condemns Western arms supplies to Ukraine. Discussions are currently underway regarding the possibility of the US supplying long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv. Putin warned that the transfer of such weapons would lead to the destruction of Russian-American relations, "at least the emerging positive trends."

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