"We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective." Hegseth said.

And that's when he finally spoke some realism on the tragic conflict which is about to reach the 3-year mark, something which has been sorely missing from Washington commentary:

"Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering," he stressed.

On the question of Zelensky's stated goal of gaining NATO admission, which many independent analysts have long warned would surely trigger Article 5 and hurl Russia and the West toward direct nuclear-armed confrontation, Hegseth said the following:

"The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement."

He also vowed that no American troops would be sent to Ukraine as part of any future security agreement.

"Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission and not covered under Article 5. There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact," the new Pentagon chief said.

He stressed that any potential security guarantees that result from negotiated settlement "should not be provided through NATO membership."

"To be clear," he continued, "as part of any security guarantee, there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine."