Trump ‘will hurt America’ if he allows Putin to win in Ukraine

Nato’s top military officer criticises president-elect’s peace plans and warns North Korea’s involvement is a ‘problem’ for the US

Donald Trump “will hurt America” if he allows Putin to win in Ukraine, Nato’s top military official has said.
In the strongest criticism of Mr Trump’s so-called peace plans since he won last week’s election, Adml Rob Bauer said Ukraine is of “strategic importance” to the US.
He also warned that North Korea’s entry into the war on Russia’s side was a “problem” for the US.
It came as the Kremlin welcomed what it said was Mr Trump’s openness to a deal that could bring an end to the war.
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for the Kremlin, said: “The signals are positive. Trump during his election talked about how he perceives everything through deals, that he can make a deal that can lead to peace.”
Last week, Mr Trump was reported considering a plan that would freeze the conflict on the current front lines, with European peace-keepers deployed to an 800-mile buffer zone.
On Saturday, Donald Jr, Mr Trump’s son, mocked Volodymyr Zelenksy on social media, resharing a video that said Ukraine’s financial “allowance” from the US is about to run out.
In his first term, Mr Trump threatened to pull the United States out of Nato, calling on European nations to increase their own defence spending rather than rely on the protection of America.
Speaking at a defence summit in Prague, Adml Bauer made an appeal for the US to remain engaged in the Ukraine war, saying it “connected to the rules-based international order [and to] the heart of Europe”.
He added: “It is connected to the ambitions of Russia, and indirectly, the ambitions of China. I cannot imagine that it is in the interest of the United States to allow Putin to come out of this conflict as a winner.”
Warning of Russia’s growing military cooperation with belligerent countries such as North Korea and Iran, Adml Bauer said Russia’s export of nuclear and ballistic missile technology was “a challenge and a problem for the United States”.
“China plays a role here as well. He [Trump] cannot solve Ukraine without looking at all these other plays as well, because otherwise the United States will hurt itself.”
Adml Bauer, as the chairman of Nato’s military committee, links forces to the alliance’s political leaders. He commands no troops of his own but is one of the most influential military officers in the alliance.
Earlier in an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, he suggested Mr Trump’s idea of a 24-hour peace plan for Ukraine needs to be viewed through “a wider aperture”.
“The fact that Russia and China have allowed North Korea to change from being the most isolated country in the world with a large set of UN Security Council resolutions against it – supported by Russia and China – they are now, suddenly, a player.
“That is a problem for the US.”
Russia has massed some 50,000 troops including North Korean soldiers in an attempt to push Ukrainian forces out of its Kursk border region.
US officials said they have been attacking Ukrainian positions with missile strikes and artillery fire, but they have not yet begun a major assault there.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say they expect an attack involving the North Korean troops in the coming days.
On Saturday, Mr Trump announced that he would not appoint Mike Pompeo, the former CIA director, to his new cabinet.
The news came as a blow to those who hoped Mr Trump might pursue a more aggressive policy towards Russia, as Mr Pompeo has long advocated for increased aid to Ukraine.