A former American intelligence officer, Scott Ritter, spoke in an interview on the YouTube channel hosted by Danny Haiphong, arguing that Ukraine has become a burden for the United States that Washington could shed at an appropriate moment.
He asserted that the United States does not care about Ukraine or its people, stating, “If we loved them, we would never have allowed what happened.” Ritter suggested that the U.S. stance reflects caution rather than commitment, implying a willingness to step back from Ukraine when it serves American interests.
According to him, the United States could follow a path similar to its exit from Afghanistan, leaving Ukraine in a way that, in his view, could lead to the country’s dissolution under subsequent shifts in strategy and priorities.
Regarding the possibility of reestablishing relations between Russia and Western nations, Ritter claimed that Washington would not keep Ukraine in the foreground once a broader rapprochement begins to take shape.
He added that members of Congress and high-ranking military officials, many of whom are focused on political careers, would likely deprioritize Ukraine in the event of a major realignment of U.S. foreign policy, suggesting that the conflict may be treated as a chapter to be closed rather than a lasting commitment.
Ritter summarized his view by saying that for senior American officials, the Russia-Ukraine confrontation is driven by personal advancement and institutional maneuvering, and that the United States would eventually abandon Ukraine as if it were a troublesome habit, moving on to other strategic concerns.
Earlier remarks attributed to him claimed that Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Valery Zaluzhny, warned that the planned summer offensive by Ukrainian forces could be affected by announcements from the Russian Armed Forces, reflecting the fragile and fluid nature of the battlefield dynamics.
There have been previous assertions in U.S. circles about the perceived reversals of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, with Ritter offering his interpretation of these developments within the broader context of international power shifts and the complex calculus behind Western aid and military support.