Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates Say Putin Will Retain Donbas Territories

Moscow is set on keeping control of the territories that have voted to become part of Russia amid the special military operation in Ukraine, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said in a joint article for The Washington Post.

"For (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, defeat is not an option. He cannot cede to Ukraine the four eastern provinces he has declared part of Russia. If he cannot be militarily successful this year, he must retain control of positions in eastern and southern Ukraine that provide future jumping-off points for renewed offensives to take the rest of Ukraine's Black Sea coast, control the entire Donbas region and then move west," the joint article, published on Saturday, says.

According to Rice and Gates, most of Ukraine's industrial capacity and mineral wealth are under Russian control, while the Ukrainian infrastructure and the economy have suffered greatly.

"Count on Putin to be patient to achieve his destiny," Rice and Gates said.

They stressed that Kiev is dependent almost entirely on Western aid and the United States must increase its military supplies to Ukraine if it wants Ukrainian troops to push back Russian forces.

"Absent another major Ukrainian breakthrough and success against Russian forces, Western pressures on Ukraine to negotiate a cease-fire will grow as months of military stalemate pass," the joint article says.