US President Donald Trump claimed that in the early days of Russia's war against Ukraine, Russian troops could have reached Kyiv within a few hours if they had moved along the highway. According to him, as a result of the military command's decision, the tanks left the asphalt road and got stuck in the mud.
Modern.az reports that Trump spoke about this while answering journalists' questions at the White House.
“Thousands of Russian tanks were moving along a concrete highway. If they had gone at maximum tank speed – exactly 48 miles (about 77 kilometers) per hour – they could have reached Ukraine in four hours. Nothing could have stopped them. The war would have ended in one day,” the US president said.
According to him, a Russian army general, whose name he did not know, decided to leave the highway and turn into agricultural fields, and then towards Kyiv. However, the troops could have continued to move along the roads.
“It was a completely foolish decision. I don't even know who that general is. I doubt he's still in service. I even doubt he's alive at all,” Trump emphasized.
The US president added that if Russian troops had moved along the highway, they could have reached Kyiv in three and a half to four hours and ended the war. But, according to his claim, the tanks that left the road got stuck in the mud and became immobile.
Answering other questions from journalists about the conflict, Trump again expressed his objection to the scale of casualties among military personnel.
“Thousands of soldiers are dying every month. This is the most insane thing I've ever heard. What is all this for?” he said.
During the conversation with media representatives, Trump was also asked how close the US was to reaching an agreement to free American teacher Steven Hubbard, who is detained in Russia.
Trump did not want to disclose details about the issue.
“Just trust me. No one has been able to do this so far. Just trust me. I don't want to talk about it,” the US president replied.
