President Vladimir Putin should be allowed a graceful exit from the war in Ukraine, says Rear Admiral Mike Hewitt. Adm Hewitt, who served in the US Navy for 31-years, emphasised the need to focus not only on what victory looks like for Ukraine but also on what it might look like for Russia. “The reality is there will be no white flag raised in this conflict”. In an interview with National Security News at the Meridian Space Summit, the admiral said: “We’ve unintentionally boxed Putin in a bit when we talk about regime change.” He noted that discussing regime change is the last thing you want to do with an adversarial leader, especially when that leader is in a situation where he has overplayed his hand and there is a threat of using tactical nuclear weapons.