The attacks Moscow is staging on Ukraine in the wake of Kyiv’s attack on Russia’s bombers shows the war is “deteriorating fast” and likely leaving the Trump administration to ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “cool it” while the peace process takes place, former National Security Council Chief of Staff Fred Fleitz told Newsmax on Sunday.
“I understand why Ukraine did that,” Fleitz, appearing with retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America Weekend,” commented. “These bombers are hitting Ukraine every day.”
Ukraine couldn’t destroy enough of the bombers in its raid, leaving Russian President Vladimir Putin the option to “dig in and stage even more deadly attacks,” said Fleitz.
Fleitz did, however, call Ukraine’s “Operation Spider Web” attacks a “brilliant move” that will “go down in history as one of the most successful and daring special operations ever.”
The operation also showed the incompetence of Russia’s leadership and intelligence, with Ukraine being able to send truckloads of drones thousands of miles away from its border to “do such extensive damage,” said Fleitz.
Russia’s military remains a threat, “but it is no match for NATO” because of its “antiquated military equipment, incompetent military leaders, and political leaders,” he continued. “The aftermath of this simply undermines the credibility of Russia’s military even further.”
Shaffer, meanwhile, said Putin thinks he can win the war.
“I don’t think they can,” he said. “I don’t think they understand what that would take.”
Still, if the Russians continue to “grind down” Ukraine, not to take the country but to demilitarize it, they can win the war, said Shaffer.
This means that President Donald Trump will “have to do something to get Putin’s attention,” but further sanctions may not be the answer.
“Europe is on the 17th round of sanctions, and their economy is being hurt more than the Russian economy,” said Shaffer. “I think we need to look at options regarding oil. Most of Putin’s funding comes from oil sales. Let’s drop the bottom out of oil, defund Iran, defund Russia, drop it down to $20 a barrel, and our economy is going to just take off like wildfire.”
Fleitz, meanwhile, said he thinks Trump has a “narrow path” to end the war by making the case to Putin that the U.S. president is “the only one on the international scene” who will make an offer to end the fighting.
There is a new factor in the war, with reports that Russian intelligence is concerned about Chinese spying, and Trump should exploit that to make it clear it’s in Russia’s best interest to become a U.S. ally, said Fleitz.
If not, he added, China could dominate Russia, try to take over Siberia, and steal its resources.
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