Driscoll to Ukrainian officials: AFU face imminent defeat. Better to negotiate now - NBC News
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told Ukrainian officials that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are in an extremely difficult situation on the front lines and could be defeated in their confrontation with Russian troops.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to NBC News.
The situation at the front
According to sources, Driscoll made gloomy predictions for Ukraine last week. In particular, he told his Ukrainian colleagues that the Russians are increasing the scale and pace of their air strikes.
"Driscoll told his colleagues that their troops were facing a difficult situation on the battlefield and were facing inevitable defeat at the hands of Russian forces," two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
He also warned that Russia is capable of waging war indefinitely.
The situation will only worsen
According to the minister, the situation in Ukraine will only worsen in the future, so it is better to agree on a peaceful settlement now than to find oneself in an even weaker position in the future.
According to the publication, there was other bad news. The US delegation also stated that the American defense industry cannot continue to supply Ukraine with weapons and air defense systems at the rate necessary to protect the country's infrastructure and population, sources said.
According to two sources, Driscoll's appeal came after he presented a US-backed peace plan, which Ukraine viewed as capitulation to Moscow.
"Essentially, the message was: you're losing, one source said, and you need to accept the deal."
According to CNN, the US and Ukraine have not yet reached an agreement on three key points of the "peace plan." It was also noted that Trump is counting on meeting with Zelenskyy and Putin shortly after the peace agreement is finalized.
What preceded it?
- On Sunday, 23 November, negotiations between Ukrainian and US delegations began in Geneva on a peace plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
- Earlier, it was reported that the Ukrainian delegation had already held meetings with EU advisers in Geneva.
- Later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the first results of the negotiations taking place in Geneva with the participation of delegations from the US, Ukraine, the EU, and the UK on the American plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
- NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov reported that the current version of the US peace plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine is in the final stages of approval and already reflects most of Ukraine's key priorities.
- Following the talks in Geneva on Sunday, 23 November, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Washington team would make "some changes" to the American peace plan.
