BRUSSELS (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday the United States and its allies would take the steps necessary to "impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression" if the war in Ukraine does not come to an end.

"If we must take this step, the U.S. War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do," Hegseth said at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group of Kyiv's allies at NATO headquarters.