Negotiations will begin when Russia realizes that losses outweigh benefits - General Mark Milley

He shared his opinions in an interview with Foreign Affairs.

He noted that rational Russian government officials will come to a decision to negotiate, but it may take months or even years.

"And I think that rational folks, as part of the Russian decision-making process, will conclude—I believe, over either months or a year or two—they’re going to conclude that the cost exceeds the benefit, and it’ll be time to do something, at least from a negotiating standpoint. That time may not be now—I can’t read minds. I don’t know when Putin will be ready to do that—but at a certain point, if he’s rational, he needs to do that," Milley explained.

The general also emphasized that Putin could end the war "tonight" if he wanted to.

"He could do it tonight; he could end the war tonight. Of course, he has political constraints internal to Russian politics. But they’re going to have to figure that out because they’re not going to win," Milley said.

He also noted that he doubted that the war could be ended this year, but emphasized that Russia had already suffered huge losses.

"I do think, though, that the probability of either side achieving their political objectives—war is about politics through the sole use of military means—I think that’s going to be very difficult, very challenging. And frankly, I don’t think the probability of that is likely in this year. But I do think the Russians have suffered a tremendous amount. They’ve lost a lot of casualties. Their economy has been hurt significantly. Their ground forces, at least, have suffered enormously," the general explains.

• Earlier, Milley said that Ukraine's victory in the war against Russia this year is unlikely, although he did not say that "it cannot be done."