In a recent interview, former U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that the war in Ukraine could have concluded on its first day if not for a critical error made by a Russian general. Trump shared these remarks during a conversation with Axios, highlighting the military dynamics at the onset of the conflict.
Trump indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a substantial military presence, including hundreds of tanks, poised to advance towards Kyiv. He described the route as a well-constructed highway that would have facilitated a rapid movement of troops and equipment.
“The highway is concrete, very good, solid as a rock, straight to Kyiv. And about halfway, he would have gotten there in three hours, moving at a speed of 80 km/h, which is roughly the maximum speed of a tank,” Trump stated.
However, according to Trump, the situation changed when the Russian general opted to divert the tanks through fields instead of utilizing the highway. This decision, he claimed, resulted in the tanks becoming immobilized due to muddy conditions following heavy rainfall just days prior.
Trump asserted that Ukrainian forces effectively neutralized the stranded Russian tanks using Javelin missiles, which he had previously supplied to Ukraine. He emphasized the tactical advantage gained by Ukrainian troops as a result of the Russian tanks’ predicament.
“They got stuck in the mud, almost like in quicksand. It was dirt like quicksand. They could not move,” he explained.
Trump further speculated that had the tanks proceeded along the highway, they would have reached Kyiv in approximately four hours, potentially leading to a swift conclusion of the conflict. He characterized the decision to take an alternative route as a significant blunder on the part of the Russian military.
Reflecting on the timeline, Trump noted that the war began over four years ago, and he described the initial miscalculation as a major error that extended the conflict.
Former President Donald Trump claimed that a mistake by a Russian general in diverting tanks from a highway to fields could have led to an immediate end to the Ukraine war. He emphasized the strategic implications of this decision and its impact on the conflict's duration.