Former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, General David Richards, said that Ukraine should start peace talks with Moscow.

In an interview with The Independent, he noted that the country has received “false hopes” from Western allies and will not be able to liberate the occupied territories without direct military support from NATO, which is not planned.

“Unless we go to the battlefield with them, which we won’t do, because Ukraine is not an existential issue for us. For the Russians, it certainly is,” the general stated. According to his assessment, the current prospects for Ukraine are unfavorable.