Senior officials from almost 50 nations gathered on Wednesday to drum up more weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, with the Pentagon’s chief absent for the first time since the group organising the military aid was set up three years ago.

The Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters is set to be chaired by the United Kingdom and Germany. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth would only arrive in Brussels after it’s over. He will participate in a meeting of NATO defence ministers on Thursday.

His absence is the latest in a series of steps that Washington has taken to distance itself from Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia’s invasion. Before Wednesday’s meeting, the UK said that it plans a tenfold increase in drone production to help Ukraine. Drones have become a decisive factor in the war, now in its fourth year.