HOUSTON -- The current US administration will cut its military budget for Ukraine next year, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a hearing in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

"It is a reduction in this (upcoming defense) budget," Hegseth told lawmakers, "This administration takes a very different view of that conflict."

"We believe that a negotiated peaceful settlement is in the best interest of both parties and our nation's interests, especially with all the competing interests around the globe," he said.

The United States has provided Ukraine more than 66 billion US dollars in aid since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out in February 2022, according to US media reports.