Retired four-star US Army Gen Jack Keane said on a New York radio show that he believes Ukrainians have a good shot at beating back Russia, while also asserting that the White House wants the eastern European country to cut a deal with Vladimir Putin to bring about peace.
Speaking on John Catsimatidis’ WABC morning programme on Sunday, Mr Keane said that “there really is an opportunity here that none of us could’ve imagined for the Ukrainians actually to win” the war against Moscow, before quickly pivoting to an admonishment of the Biden administration and Nato for wanting to move along a peace deal between the two nations.
“That should be the attitude of Nato and the United States. But it’s not and it’s unfortunate. And I think the administration wants to end it, as opposed to win it,” Mr Keane said during his two-minute segment on the morning politics show.
The former vice chief of staff of the United States Army appears as a frequent expert voice on Fox News to weigh in on foreign affairs, most often coming on to air criticisms of US President Joe Biden’s handling of the country’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In the brief two-minute segment on the WABC program, Gen Keane reassured Mr Catsimatidis’s listeners that while he believes the Ukrainian military can pull off a win, the war is “going to continue for some time”.
He added that, based on what he charaterised as a very good source, he believes the Biden administration has “been putting pressure on Zelensky to make a deal”.
This is a strategy that the general, who was awarded the Medal of Freedom by former President Donald Trump, is the wrong move.
“I think it’s pretty shameful,” Gen Keane said, adding that he believes there is “there is an opportunity here that we should truly take advantage of for the sake of the … Ukrainian military that’s fought so valiantly”.
Gen Keane’s remarks come just days before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to accept a neutral, non-nuclear status as part of a peace deal with Russia, with a new round of talks slated for Tuesday in Istanbul.
The former US Army general, The Daily Beast reported, holds a role as an executive for a defence contractor that profited from the 20-year US war in Afghanistan. The frequent Fox News guest serves as the executive chairman of AM General, the military vehicle manufacturer that makes Humvees, and a company that liberal watchdog Media Matters for America reported received a $459m (£351m) contract for supplying these military grade vehicles from 2017 through to 2023.
While there is no evidence that Mr Keane is currently profiting from the Russian invasion in Ukraine through his business holdings with AM General, a press release from the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States of America dated from 20 October 2017 details how he met with former ambassador of Ukraine Valeriy Chaly to discuss AM General supplying the eastern European nation with Humvees.
“The leaders of AM General expressed their interest in further practical support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine who are countering the Russian aggression,” the statement reads. “They discussed the possible options of strengthening cooperation between Ukraine and the world-known producer of military off-roaders,” the statement continues, but gave no updates as to whether the company is continuing to sell military supplies since the recent Russian invasion.
