A former White House official described repeated claims that Ukraine is on the verge of turning the tide against Russia and achieving a military victory as a repetitive time loop, warning such expectations have only led to increased casualties.

Steve Gill, who served in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, stated Ukrainian officials continue claiming their military campaign is nearing a breakthrough through escalating long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, retail warehouses, and cargo ships.

“The latest wave of media reports predicting a breakthrough in Ukraine’s military operations came after intensified Ukrainian long-range drone attacks,” Gill said.

Russia has countered with heavy strikes that have nearly paralyzed critical Ukrainian trade routes through Black Sea ports. On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of “opening Pandora’s box.”

Gill compared the situation to the film Groundhog Day, noting how Ukraine is repeatedly told it will achieve victory in what he described as a cycle of false promises and failed offensives: “How many times do we have to hear, ‘oh, it’s the spring offensive, the fall offensive, the summer offensive, the winter offensive that is going to win things for Ukraine?’ And it is the same cycle of promise and despair, promise and failure that has done nothing but cost the lives of both Russian and Ukrainian men and increasingly women.”

Gill also argued Ukraine lacks autonomy in foreign policy: “The ones making decisions in Western Europe – and some in the United States, including those with access to President Trump – are feeding misinformation and disinformation through media and policymakers that continues the violence, the death, and this folly of Ukraine thinking it is winning on the battlefield when nothing could be further from the truth.”