Washington: Ukrainian military capable of repelling Russians by 2025

US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien has indicated in an interview with radio "Svoboda" that Ukraine will be able to repel Russia and keep its economy functioning.

He believes that the most direct path to peace is for Ukraine to be strong enough to win the war.

"Between what we are doing here this week and what has been done in recent months, we are very confident that Ukraine will be able to say to Russia: we can continue to fight and defeat you until 2025 and after that if you want. Under these circumstances, we believe Ukraine is capable of fending off Russia and keeping its economy functioning," O'Brien said.

The US Assistant Secretary of State has also explained what would have to happen to make this happen.

"Ukraine must stop Russia's advance to the east. "We are already seeing that Russia's much-vaunted spring offensive is already failing because it is taking back some of the territories after aid from the US and other partners began to arrive in the spring," O'Brien also emphasized.

He added that Ukraine should keep its trade routes and economic centers open. According to him, the key to this is air defense.

"That's why this week President Biden announced a whole new set of both strategic and hundreds of tactical air defense systems that will allow Ukraine to preserve its economy and provide hope and tax revenue for society," the diplomat said.

He is adamant that Ukraine must be able to destabilize Russia's firing positions: "Here too we see real consequences."

"A significant part of the Black Sea Fleet withdrew from Crimea. Many Russian planes have left Crimea. And Russia's ability to shell Ukraine in the immediate vicinity is already "falling apart". So, with that in mind, we think Ukraine's position has actually improved significantly. The end of the year is approaching and Ukraine will be able to say to Russia: we pushed you away", O'Brien stressed.

He also reminded that there is 50 billion dollars (91.75 billion leva) because the G-7 has just agreed to use Russian funds as a basis for this.

"We believe that this is the best "point" to aim for in order to achieve peace," he stressed.