Next couple of months ‘critical for Ukraine,’ says former Trump security adviser

By Efe Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - The months leading up to President-elect Donald Trump’s new presidency will be crucial in determining what the new phase of the Russia-Ukraine war will be, former national security adviser to Donald Trump said.

Speaking to “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on CBS news, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster commented on what to expect from the new Trump administration, other countries’ involvement in the war and the changes that could occur to US foreign policy.

“I think what's happened is so many people have taken such a myopic view of Ukraine, and they've misunderstood Putin's intentions and how consequential the war is to our interests across the world,” he said.

Emphasizing that the war has become a much more global phenomenon than a regional one, he said that the situation has now evolved into a war fought in Ukraine against “this axis of aggressors that are doing everything they can to tear down the existing international order,” citing the North Korean soldiers fighting on the European soil in the first major war in Europe since World War II, the Chinese efforts to "sustain Russia's war-making machine," and the drones and missiles Iran has provided as part of the broader picture, according to CBS news.

Trump’s selection of figures like Senator Marco Rubio and JD Vance are also not particularly supportive of Ukraine which, according to McMaster, delivers a “psychological blow to the Ukrainians."

This could mean that the policy in Ukraine is at a critical stage, McMaster said and added that based on his experience, Trump listens to advice and learns from those around him.