An ex-GOP representative and former US Air Force member has suggested Russia is "on the verge of collapse", three years after invading Ukraine.
Adam Kinzinger believes Ukraine will be able to hold out even longer against Russia, as peace talks involving president Donald Trump continue. The ex-Republican Party representative says the party is not matching up with the facts of the war in Ukraine. Russia's grip on Ukraine has loosened, according to Kinzinger, who says Vladimir Putin's military has lost 10% of the occupied territory they held after first invading.
Kinzinger said, "About a week or two into the war, Russia occupied about 30-some percent of Ukraine. Today, that number is a little over 20%. Think about that. The war kicks off, a couple weeks into it, Russia has 30-some percent of Ukraine, today that number is a little under 20."
"So Russia now occupies a significant amount of Ukraine less than they did when they kicked off the war which means, obviously, Ukraine has been able to shove them back. In that whole process, in that fight, Russia has lost probably close now to 1.1 or 1.2million men. That's casualties, killed, captured, wounded, missing. Russia now occupies less of Ukraine than it did."
Kinzinger went on to criticise the stance of Republican Party officials and the president in the negotiations. The former House representative for Illinois compared the drawn out war and lack of territorial gains Russia had seen to the Iraq War and the US invasion.
He added, "Is there a soul in the world that would say we are winning, or we were going to win? Of course not, the US would have pulled out long ago if that was the case. The world would be screaming that the greatest superpower in the world was getting crushed."
"So why is it that Russia occupies 20% of Ukraine at the cost of 1.2million men, and there's this belief among Trump and Republicans particularly that Russia is inevitably going to win? How?"
"They're getting wasted in Ukraine. It's like the old joke, Russia used to be the second biggest army in the world, now they're the second best army in Ukraine." Kinzinger went on to say that those calling Ukraine's loss "inevitable" were wrong.
He added, "Ukraine is winning this war. All a defending country has to do to win a war, is keep defending. That's it. The Russian economy has turned into a war economy. The Russian economy is on the verge of collapse, the Russian demographics are awful. The price of energy is down and Russia exists solely on her energy."