US warns Ukraine of ‘imminent defeat’ – NBC
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has reportedly pressed Kiev to accept a peace deal before it’s too late
RT composite. © Getty Images / Scott Peterson; Richard Burkhart/ Savannah Morning News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images/Sipa USA / Legion-Media
A senior US military official has warned that Ukraine faces “imminent defeat” on the battlefield and urged Kiev to accept a US-drafted peace deal before its position deteriorates further, NBC News reported on Tuesday, citing people briefed on the talks.
The initial version of the 28-point draft plan would reportedly require Ukraine to relinquish the parts of the new Russian regions in Donbass still under its control, freeze the front lines in Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, and cap the size of its army.
In a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Kiev last week, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told his counterparts that their troops “faced a dire situation on the battlefield and would suffer an imminent defeat against Russian forces,” NBC reported, citing two sources.
The Russian military has been on the offensive in recent months in Donbass and elsewhere, with Ukrainian officials complaining of a lack of manpower.
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Driscoll went on to say that Russia is increasing the scale and pace of its air attacks and can “fight on indefinitely,” and warned that US industry cannot keep supplying weapons and air defenses at the required rate, NBC said.
“The message was basically – you are losing, and you need to accept the deal,” the network’s source said.
According to NBC, Kiev refused to sign the deal, which has since been amended. Several media reports also suggest that Driscoll held “secret talks” with the Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday.
NBC described the talks between Driscoll and Ukrainian officials as a sign of a long-running rift in the Trump administration between Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
While Vance’s camp is seeking to push Kiev to compromise and see it “as the primary obstacle to peace,” supporters of Rubio believe that the Ukraine conflict could be settled by pressuring Russia, the network said. Vance and Rubio have denied being at odds over Ukraine.
Russia has said it remains in contact with Washington and has received the broad outlines of the plan, but said it will not “engage in megaphone diplomacy,” which could jeopardize the peace efforts.