'Ukraine going to be wrecked':  After Zelenskyy-Trump spat, John Mearsheimer's 2015 prediction goes viral

After US President Donald Trump's recent meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, an old video of American international relations expert John Mearsheimer has gone viral. 

In this video dated September 25, 2015, Mearsheimer can be heard making some startling predictions about Ukraine riding high on the backing of the US and other Western powers.

He also talks about the country going on a full-fledged war with Russia in a lecture at the University of Chicago. 

"What's going on here is that the West is leading Ukraine down the primrose path and the end result is that Ukraine is going to get wrecked and I believe that the policy that I'm advocating which is neutralising Ukraine and then building it up economically and getting it out of the competition between Russia on one side and NATO on the other side is the best thing that could happen to the Ukrainians," he can be heard saying in the video. 

He said that what the West is doing is diametrically opposite since it is encouraging Kyiv to "play tough" with Moscow. Mearsheimer mentioned Ukrainians are being told that they will become a part of the West. 

"We're encouraging the Ukrainians to think that they will ultimately become part of the West because we will ultimately defeat Putin and we will ultimately get our way, time is on our side."

The American scholar stated the Ukrainians are playing along and are "almost completely unwilling" to give up and instead want to pursue a hardline policy against the Russians. "The end result is that their country is going to be wrecked. And what we're doing is in effect encouraging that outcome."

Furthermore, he suggested that it would be sensible for the West to work to create a neutral Ukraine and in America's interest to bury this crisis as soon as possible. 

"It certainly would be in Russia's interest to do so and most importantly it would be in Ukraine's interest to put an end to the crisis." On Friday, Trump and Zelenskyy's meeting started with handshakes and smiles but turned into a verbal argument within minutes.

During this meeting, US Vice President JD Vance emphasised the need for diplomacy to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war. 

"We tried the pathway of (former US President) Joe Biden, of thumping our chest and pretending that the president of the United States' words mattered more than the president of the United States' actions. What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy. That's what President Trump is doing." 

After this, Zelenskyy questioned Vance on the Russian occupation of parts of Ukraine and Crimea and highlighted that the situation remained the same from 2014-22. He also mentioned that despite signing a ceasefire agreement, Putin killed Ukrainians and did not exchange prisoners and went onto ask, "What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about? What do you mean?".

Visibly irritated, Vance said: "I'm talking about the kind of diplomacy that's going to end the destruction of your country." He also called out Zelenskyy for being "disrespectful" and mentioned that Ukraine is sending conscripts on the frontlines due to shortage of soldiers. 

"You're not acting at all thankful. And that's not a nice thing. I'll be honest, that's not a nice thing. All right, I think we've seen enough. What do you think? "This is going to be great television, I will say that," Trump said as he wrapped up the meeting.