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Ukraine unable to push Russian troops back to earlier positions — US diplomat

"There's a size differential here that's important," Marco Rubio added

WASHINGTON, January 15. /TASS/. Under no circumstances can Ukraine push Russian troops back to positions they held before Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine, the nominee to the post of the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said.

In his words, "there's no way Ukraine is also going to push these people all the way back to where they were on the eve" of the special military operation.

"There's a size differential here that's important," he added during congressional hearings to approve his nomination. In his words, it is "unrealistic to believe that somehow a nation the size of Ukraine" can push back Russian forces, "no matter how much damage the Russian Federation has suffered."

Rubio added that "the problem that Ukraine is facing is not that they're running out of money, is that they're running out of Ukrainians."

In his opinion, "it is going to take a generation to rebuild" Ukraine. "Millions of Ukrainians no longer live in Ukraine," Rubio continued. Besides, in his words, rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, including the power grid, will "cost hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild over the next decades."

US President-elect Donald Trump nominated Rubio, 53, to the post of the US Secretary of State on November 13, 2024.