Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. Cyber Command to halt cyberattacks against Russia, according to a report from The Record.

The Details: Hegseth reportedly issued the orders to Cyber Command chief Gen. Timothy Haugh. Haugh also leads the National Security Agency (NSA), but these orders do not apply to the NSA, as Cyber Command operates under the Department of Defense, and the NSA is an intelligence agency. An anonymous official speaking to Bloomberg (Lean Left bias) denied that Hegseth had canceled or delayed any operations.

For Context: The report followed President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance’s tense Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky on Friday. In recent weeks, Trump’s administration has paid increased attention to ending the conflict in Ukraine. Critics have accused Trump of cozying up to Russia.

How The Media Covered It: The news was first reported by The Record (not rated by AllSides) on February 28. The outlet reported speaking to “three people familiar with the matter.” CNN (Lean Left bias) and The New York Times (Lean Left) both reported the news on March 2, citing their own anonymous sources. Overnight on March 2, the story began to be picked up by other large mainstream outlets. As of early March 3, it was covered mostly by outlets from the left. Updated 3/4/25 with Bloomberg's report.