The United States has withdrawn air defense systems from Ukraine to bolster the protection of its bases in the Middle East, said US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in an interview with Fox News.

"I've been attending congressional hearings all week. And I was asked: 'Did you really redeploy counter-drone systems from Ukraine to the Middle East?' I replied: 'Yes, we did'," Hegseth stated.

According to him, the US is using all available means "to protect our people in the region and around the world, because the current defense landscape has changed."