A former national security advisor to Donald Trump has rubbished the Republican presidential candidate's claims that he will be able to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow and end the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to CBS’s Face the Nation on Sept. 29, HR McMaster dismissed his former boss's claims as "a real myth," adding: "It’s a real misunderstanding of war — to assume that you can get a favorable political outcome without a favorable military outcome.
"That’s never really happened in war."
Trump has promised to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine within a day if elected but has not publicly elaborated on how he plans to achieve that.
One plan reportedly involves ceding territory to Russia.
Even the Kremlin has voiced skepticism of Trump's claims, saying on July 18 there was a need to "be realistic."
"I don’t really buy it," McMaster said, adding the only way that Ukraine can end up with "a favorable settlement" is to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin is in a situation where he is convinced that he is losing the war.
"How do you do that? You demonstrate our resolve to continue to support the Ukrainians as they defend themselves against this continued onslaught by the Russians," McMaster said.
"That’s how you get to — maybe — favorable conditions for negotiation."
In July, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Trump should reveal his plan so Kyiv can be prepared for any risks such a plan might entail.
"If Trump knows how to finish this war, he should tell us today," Zelensky told Bloomberg Television in an interview published on July 3.
"If there are risks to Ukrainian independence, if we lose statehood — we want to be ready for this, we want to know... We want to understand whether in November we will have the powerful support of the U.S., or will be all alone."
Trump and Zelensky met in the U.S. last week where the presidential candidate said that he had "learned a lot" as the war continues but noted that his views on ending it "as soon as possible" have not changed.
Recently, Trump's rhetoric toward Zelensky and U.S. support for Ukraine has become increasingly critical.
He has claimed that Zelensky wants Democrats to win the upcoming presidential election, referring to him as "the greatest salesman on earth."
Trump also criticized Zelensky earlier in September for refusing to "make a deal" with Russia and accused him of "making little nasty aspersions" toward him.
But in an interview with The Washington Post published on Sept. 30, Trump said that he "likes" Zelensky and that he "had a good relationship" with him while in office.
Kateryna Hodunova
