Crow, who is a member of the House Armed Services and House Intelligence Committees, also said it was “disappointing” to witness the events unfolding in Kherson, Ukraine’s most strategic city currently being occupied by Russian forces.
Crow, however, expressed optimism that Ukraine troops can retake the city, adding that the Russian armed forces have continued to struggle.
“They’re having logistical problems, re-supply problems, fuel problems. Their morale is extremely low, they’re encountering some desertions,” he told CNN.
He said despite these challenges, Russia still maintains “an overwhelming combat advantage on paper”.
The lawmaker predicted that the war may continue for some time, with Russian President Vladimir Putin not likely to move away from his primary goal.
“This is going to be a long slog. I think if we expect Putin to take an off-ramp here or to de-escalate this because of the toll on his own army, I think we’re not thinking about this in the way that Putin is thinking about this,” Crow detailed.
“He views this as an existential threat to him and his legacy and frankly, he does not care about his own soldiers, ” Crow said, adding that the Russian leader is willing to throw as much combat power and would try to win the war by all means.
“This is going to get worse and worse for the Ukrainians,” Crow predicted, adding “time is on the Russian’s side right now.”
Both nations met at the Belarusian borders for the second time on Thursday to negotiate on the possibilities of ending the war.
Thursday peace talks did not also reach a concrete end as both sides only agreed on a temporary cease-fire to allow the evacuation of citizens and the delivery of aid to areas where fierce fighting has been taking place.
The war between both countries has now entered its ninth day with the Ukrainian President claiming to killed over 9,000 Russian forces as of last Tuesday.
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