Trump Predicts Russia Will ‘Take All Of Ukraine,’ Siding WIth Putin Against Military Opinion

Former President Donald Trump predicted in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Russia, under President Vladimir Putin, will eventually “take all of Ukraine.”

Russia has waged war on its western neighbor for over a year but has conquered less than 20 percent of Ukrainian territory. The United States, under President Joe Biden, continues to be the largest source of military aid to Ukraine by far.

The war has reached a stalemate in Eastern Ukraine with little chance of either side making significant advancements anytime soon. It is unclear, in this context, how Trump believes that Russia can conquer all of Ukraine including the heavily defended capital of Kyiv and Ukraine’s western regions that are staunchly pro-Western.

Biden has championed large packages of military, humanitarian and financial aid, costing tens of billions of dollars, for Ukraine.

Trump has argued that a peace deal must be reached to avoid “nuclear war,” and that he would help Ukraine and Russia reach a settlement on his first day in office if elected president again in 2024.

In a jab at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has flip-flopped on his stance on Russia and is likely Trump’s biggest political threat inside the Republican party, the former president claimed he would be more responsible and measured on the issue.

“This kind of neo-con rhetoric, mocking Russia’s nuclear weapons, along with implying that Putin must be tried and presumably executed as a war criminal, only increases the chance of deadly nuclear escalation,” he continued. “We need a statesman and a peacemaker in the White House, not someone who recites mindless and recycled talking points to win the approval of the failed foreign policy establishment.”

Currently, there is no clear path for a U.S. president to make a difference in the war without threatening to withhold aid from Ukraine and forcing President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s government to cede territory. Trump has not explicitly stated that this is his plan.

Trump has a long history of making pro-Putin statements at odds with the views of even his own advisers.