Senate Intelligence vice chair Rubio predicts neither Russia nor Ukraine will be able to claim true victory in war

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, predicted Sunday that neither Russia nor Ukraine will be able to claim true victory at the end of the war.

“There is no way that the Russian Federation takes Ukraine, all of Ukraine, or half of Ukraine, and that was Putin’s goal from the beginning,” the Republican pol told “Fox News Sunday.”

“On the other side of it, the reality of it is that Ukraine is small compared to Russia in terms of size and its ability to bring scale,” he said of the invaded country’s military might when ti comes to defending all of its borders.

“Neither side is going to be able to achieve victory as defined in the most idealistic terms,” Rubio predicted.

The Sunshine State Republican said he has long tried not to express that view publicly out of concern that it would undermine the position of Ukraine, the US’s war-torn ally, on the battlefield.

But he suggested that all bets are off now, given Ukraine’s war struggles as Congress itself battles over whether to give more US aid for Ukraine — a massive financial package stalled by fighting over the migrant crisis at America’s border with Mexico.

Rubio argued that the best path forward is to strengthen Kyiv’s hand as much as possible ahead of potential negotiations for an end to the deadly conflict.

“[Ukrainian officials] are not going to have leverage if Putin feels like he has the upper hand — that he has ways to gain and can force Ukraine into a situation where they become basically a satellite state, which is what he wants,” Rubio said.

Both Ukrainian and White House officials have blamed recent setbacks on Ukraine’s battlefield — such as last month’s retreat from the eastern city of Avdiivka — on munition shortages.

Congress has been stuck in paralysis for months over how to replenish military aid to Ukraine, something that President Biden requested in August.

Rubio is supportive of marshaling more aid to Ukraine but wants to tend to the US border first.

“I believe that we should help Ukraine but only after we help America through our border in the same way as Democrats are saying we won’t help Israel unless you help Ukraine,” he said.

The senator suggested that President Biden could get a jump-start on the border aspect through executive orders and knocked him from rolling back action that his predecessor took to rein in illegal crossings.

Rubio was among the Republicans who voted against a $118 billion package in the Senate last month featuring aid to Ukraine and Israel, as well as border security reforms.

Democrats said the bill failed because of its opposition from former President Trump and also GOP desires to preserve the border chaos as an issue for the November election.

The Senate later passed a $95 billion plan for Ukraine, Israel, and Indo-Pacific nations without the border security provisions. Rubio voted against that measure as well. The House of Representatives has failed to take that up.

Underpinning concerns in the lower chamber is the fear that hardliners will try to depose House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) if he brings up the bill to re-up aid to Ukraine for a vote.

Some House Republicans, led by Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.), have dangled the prospect of bypassing Johnson and bringing up the bill through what’s known as a discharge petition.