Speaking astatine the Yalta European Strategy forum, Powell said unit connected Putin was moving "and that means we person to support the unit up".
He said: "What we don't privation to bash astatine this signifier is instrumentality our ft disconnected the state - and literally, state could beryllium the occupation arsenic we travel into the winter, wherever the EU is going to person existent problems of shortage, and we cannot crook that into an vantage for Putin.
"It volition necessitate immoderate existent hardship and difficulties connected our parts. But we volition person to swallow that and we person to support the economic, military, governmental and diplomatic enactment going for Ukraine."
Powell said things successful Ukraine did "feel a spot hard astatine the moment". He pointed to Russian pitchy drone attacks, strikes connected Ukrainian businesses, the deficiency of Patriot aerial defences against ballistic missiles, and the government's fund deficit.
But helium insisted "there are beardown reasons for optimism". He said Trump – who has blown blistery and acold implicit Ukraine – was "in a precise antithetic place".
"He sees that Ukraine is doing better, and truthful helium is not leaning successful the absorption of Putin successful the mode that helium was previously. I deliberation that's a truly large asset."
Powell said Russia was nary longer claiming the US had agreed, astatine past year's Trump-Putin acme successful Alaska, that Ukraine should springiness up territory and Nato membership.
"The alleged Anchorage compromise is firmly dead," Powell said. "That's gone. We tin halt worrying astir it. It's finished. I deliberation that's a truly important crushed to beryllium positive, due to the fact that present we tin look for superior ways of getting to a negotiated settlement, alternatively than waiting for the Ukrainian radical to manus implicit territory the Russians person not been capable to conquer."
He besides pointed to Ukrainian commanders' occurrence successful holding the beforehand line, the milestone of Russia suffering 1.5 cardinal casualties since 2022, Ukraine's strikes heavy successful Russian territory and the information "Europe has remained solid".
He said: "The strategy is to use capable unit to marque [Putin] privation to get into negotiation. And I deliberation that the escalation we perceive speech astir is not a problem; it's a motion of success, due to the fact that what's happening is the unit that we are putting connected Putin is yet paying off."
Putin himself has fixed small motion helium is feeling nether pressure, telling journalists earlier this month: "I person nary uncertainty that the force volition crumble."
Meanwhile Ukrainian authorities person begun evacuating immoderate residents successful Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, the biggest cities inactive nether afloat Ukrainian power successful the eastbound Donbas region. The afloat seizure of Donbas, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, is simply a cardinal nonsubjective for Russia.
Powell said it was "mug's game" to foretell erstwhile the warfare mightiness extremity but helium said Europe had to beryllium prepared to negociate a settlement: "You person to beryllium acceptable for one, and astatine immoderate stage, wherever we slightest expect it, Putin volition beryllium acceptable to negotiate... It's each astir getting him to beryllium superior successful that negotiation. And I deliberation that strategy is opening to work."
Powell, who helped negociate the Good Friday Agreement successful Northern Ireland, said it was "very important to support interaction with Putin and the Russians".
He said: "What we don't privation is miscalculation - that they don't recognize wherever our reddish lines are. That's wherefore I deliberation it's important the CIA went to Moscow arsenic well. I deliberation we request to support talking. I wrote a publication called 'Talking to Terrorists'. I would surely beryllium successful favour of talking to this violent arsenic good - to effort and support communication."
The warfare was "not astir territory" but astir "the close of Ukraine to beryllium independent", Powell added, and "to the grade that [Putin] gains different 10km of onshore oregon loses different 40km of land, this warfare is already won".
He added: "That's the menace to him astatine home. There is simply a free, independent, and European Ukraine, and radical successful Russia are going to announcement that."
English (US)·