US General Cavoli: “Any Deal With Putin Won’t End Russia’s Territorial Ambitions”

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the fiscal year 2026 defense budget on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on April 3. US General Christopher Cavoli, commander of US European Command, addressed key issues regarding the war against Ukraine, Russia’s military capabilities, and the effectiveness of Western aid to Ukraine.

A four-star general in the United States Army, Cavoli has been serving as the commander of United States European Command (USEUCOM) since July 1, 2022, and as Supreme Allied Commander Europe since July 4, 2022.

When asked if a deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin would end his invasions of neighboring countries or his aggressive actions in Europe, General Cavoli emphasized that any potential agreement would not mark the end of Russia’s territorial ambitions. “I do not, ma’am. My professional assessment based on years of study is that this is part of a broader pattern in Russian history and certainly in current Russian activity.”

In a discussion about the importance of supporting [Ukraine], the senator referenced a statement made by General Cavoli at the Aspen Security Forum, where he said that supporting [Ukraine] is vital for American security. “Can you confirm that you still believe that is correct?” the senator asked, “I do believe that, yes, ma’am,” General Cavoli responded.

When asked about Ukraine’s position compared to last year, Cavoli responded, “They’re in a much better position not to lose it, Senator. They’ve shored up their defenses. They’ve assumed very strong defenses, and they’ve improved their force generation capability, so they’re in a much better position than they were.”

On the success of the Patriot missile systems, Cavoli explained, “They are up and running, sir. I can tell you exactly in closed session. But that has been in my mind, a success story. Frankly, I was just a little bit dubious in the beginning. It’s a complicated system. We trained guys for a long, long time to be able to operate it. The Ukrainians put their really their best people against it and took to it like a fish to water.”

Regarding long-range missiles supplied to Ukraine, Cavoli stated, “They’ve been extremely effective, sir. I could go into this in private session, but the United States makes some very good weaponry and… the ones we’ve donated have been very, very effective.”

When asked of the status of Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, he stated, “There is a Ukrainian force that is holding on inside Kursk Oblast inside Russia. They’ve got quite a bit of terrain. I’d give it to you in closed session, sir, and how many troops, but they’ve got a sizable force there, and they maintain a well-defended piece of terrain there.”

Cavoli also addressed concerns about Russia’s ability to rebuild its military. He said, “I believe the personnel they’ll be able to build as quickly as they want to. They continue to maintain a conscription. You saw that just last week the Russian government announced its annual conscription drive. It increased by 10,000 over last year, 160,000 this year. With those numbers, they will be able to constitute the force size that they choose fairly quickly.”

In related news, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, stated that Russia may be open to certain security guarantees for Ukraine. Dmitriev, who is currently in the United States on a mission for Vladimir Putin, described the talks in Washington as having yielded a “positive outcome.”

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