Ukraine does not have enough people to resist the Russian armed forces on the battlefield, and Russian troops could have captured Kyiv on February 24, 2022, within a few hours if one of the generals had not made a mistake while advancing a tank column. US President Donald Trump made these new statements regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war on October 20, UNN reports.
The American president claimed that about a thousand Russian tanks were moving along a concrete highway toward the Ukrainian capital, but the commander ordered them to turn onto farmland, where the military equipment became stuck in the mud.
Details
The Russians had a thousand tanks moving along a concrete highway. They would have been in Ukraine in four hours. Nothing could have stopped them. The war would have ended in one day. And this very stupid general decided to turn onto farmland and then turn left and head toward Kyiv instead of staying on the highway. Eventually, he got stuck in the mud
He added that he did not know the name of the general who allegedly gave the relevant order and suggested that the man was probably already dead.
It is worth noting that Trump has previously voiced a similar version of events at the beginning of the invasion. However, the claim that the Russian offensive force could have captured Kyiv within a few hours and that this was prevented solely by the mistake of one general has still not been confirmed by any independent military studies.
What else Donald Trump said about the war in Ukraine
US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine should agree to conclude a peace deal with Russia, otherwise the situation for it could deteriorate significantly. According to the American president, the Ukrainian authorities should demonstrate their readiness to end the war and reach agreements with Moscow.
Ukraine must itself want to end this war. Zelenskyy must want to end this war. And if he does not, I think it will be very bad
He also expressed the belief that prolonging the hostilities would only worsen Ukraine's position. At the same time, the White House chief referred to Russia's numerical advantage, which, in his opinion, has greater opportunities to replenish its army's personnel.
If they do not make a deal, eventually everything will only get worse. Russia is a very large country. They have a lot of people they can recruit. Ukraine has nowhere to get that many people. And it is time to make a deal
Trump also stated that the United States and European countries had spent substantial sums supporting Ukraine, but, according to him, Europe was already tired of the war. The American leader once again criticized the scale of the military assistance that Washington had provided to Kyiv.
We have given Ukraine a great deal. We have received absolutely nothing in return except grief, deaths, and enormous financial losses. We provided incredible amounts of equipment and military hardware. And it is time
In addition, he expressed doubt that Ukrainian society would continue to be willing to tolerate the prolongation of the war.
I don't think Zelenskyy's people will tolerate this any longer. He needs to make a deal
Context
The US president's new statements came amid tensions in relations between Washington and Kyiv. The day before, on October 19, Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly should have ended the war earlier and suggested that someone else should represent the Ukrainian side in peace negotiations.
Meanwhile, on October 20, talks took place in Oslo between the Ukrainian delegation, American representatives, and European leaders regarding possible ways to end the war and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Following the meeting, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said that US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff would travel to Saint Petersburg on October 21 to discuss with the Russian side the proposals developed during the talks.
And President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine is interested in a just and lasting peace, but it was Russia that launched the full-scale war and continues hostilities.
We remind you
A day earlier, U.S. leader Donald Trump stated that Russia’s armed forces "didn’t come close to doing what they could have" in Ukraine.