Retired Col. Douglas Macgregor, who was appointed by Donald Trump to serve as senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense, says Russian forces were initially “too gentle” in Ukraine and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of being a “puppet,” adding that there was nothing “heroic” about him as he leads his country’s resistance against Russian forces.
“The first five days Russian forces I think frankly were too gentle,” he said. “They’ve now corrected that. So, I would say another ten days this should be completely over.”
Macgregor, whose nomination to serve as ambassador to Germany failed in the Senate during the Trump administration, said if Ukraine had accepted Russia’s deal the war would’ve ended “days ago.”
“I think Zelensky is a puppet and he is putting huge numbers of his own population in unnecessary risk,” Macgregor said. “I don’t see anything heroic about the man. I think the most heroic thing he could do right now is come to terms with reality. Neutralize Ukraine.”
“This is not a bad thing,” he continued. “A neutral Ukraine would be good for us and Russia. It would create the buffer that frankly both sides want but he’s I think being told I think to hold on and trying to drag this out, which is tragic for the people that have to live through this.”
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) rebuked Macgregor in a tweet on Saturday.
“Douglas MacGregor, nominated by Trump as ambassador to Germany; appointed by Trump as sr advisor to the Secretary of Defense, says Russian forces have been ‘too gentle’ and ‘I don’t see anything heroic’ about Zelensky,” Cheney wrote. “This is the Putin wing of the GOP.”
This comes a week after Macgregor’s comments about the Ukraine-Russia crisis was slammed by Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin after he said Putin should be able to take Ukraine and the US should not get involved.
“The kind of appeasement talk that Colonel Macgregor, who should know better — when he was in government, he was the one who was advising Trump to pull all troops out of Germany,” Griffin said. “That projection of weakness is what made Putin think he could move into a sovereign country like Ukraine.”
