(NewsNation) — Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly says President Donald Trump is deliberately avoiding criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a calculated strategy to secure a peace deal in Ukraine.

“Trump knows that Putin is never going to stop murdering people, unless Putin can walk away with some kind of victory, some kind of saving face,” O’Reilly said Monday on NewsNation’s “On Balance.” “That’s why Trump isn’t attacking him. That’s why Trump even patronizes him to a certain extent, not condemning him.”

O’Reilly said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fails to understand basic negotiation tactics, saying “a 10-year-old would” recognize that “if your enemy is more powerful than you, and you want the enemy to stop murdering your people, you have to make some accommodations.”

O’Reilly’s comments followed Trump’s contentious Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy, and Monday’s announcement that the Trump administration is halting U.S. weapons aid to Ukraine.

“Zelenskyy is going to lose some territory” at war’s end, O’Reilly said.

Despite criticizing Zelenskyy for being “in way over his head,” O’Reilly defended the Ukrainian president’s intentions, saying, “I believe that Zelensky wants the best for his country. He’s just out of his league. He doesn’t understand the danger that surrounds him.”

O’Reilly concluded by expressing optimism that Trump would eventually secure a deal, though he acknowledged Democrats would likely criticize any agreement reached.