Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville spoke to the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday morning and covered many topics, including his opposition to additional U.S. funding for Ukraine.

Tuberville opposed the $95 bill aid package that the Senate passed on Tuesday, which included $60 billion to help Ukraine in its defense against the invasion by Russia. Alabama Sen. Katie Britt also voted no. The bill passed 70-29. Tuberville said he does not expect the bill to pass the House, where it has come under criticism from House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Tuberville, the former Auburn University football coach elected to the Senate in 2020, said it would be a waste for the United States to continue to pour money and resources into the war in Ukraine because he described it as futile.

“It’s like a junior high playing an NFL team,” Tuberville told a large audience at a chamber breakfast. “They can’t win.”

Speaking to reporters later, Tuberville was asked about the possibility that a withdrawal of U.S. support of Ukraine could open the door for more aggressive actions by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Tuberville said he does not think Russia would use Ukraine as a steppingstone for more military conquests. He said he supports the United States taking a role in negotiations to end the war.

“My colleagues, even on the Republican side that are wanting to send more money, say that (if) Russia wins, they are going to continue on through Europe,” Tuberville said. “Well, first of all, in two years and spending billions and billions of dollars on both sides, they’ve made about 25 miles of advance into Ukraine. They can’t beat Ukraine to a point where they can just run over them.

“You’ve got to think about this. If you take over a country, then you’ve got to govern it,” Tuberville said. “They don’t want to do that. They want the part that they feel like that they are owed. And I’m against that.”

“But, at the end of the day, somebody has got to sit down with the people from Russia and get this over with,” the senator sad. “We can’t afford it. Ukraine’s people can’t afford it. Lives are being lost. Russia can’t afford it.”

Tuberville said there was a failure in diplomacy that he believes could have prevented the war.

“Now we’ve got to get out of this thing somehow,” the senator said. “We’ve got to get the Ukrainian people out. We’ve got to American public out.”

Tuberville said he believes Putin understands the consequences of further aggression.

“Do I think that they will continue going through Europe? No, I do not,” the senator said. “I don’t think they’ve got any intentions, because if they did, then we would get in it. Not just money, our whole military. And that would be the beginning of the end maybe for a lot of things.”

Tuberville said he has gained a better understanding of the importance of keeping an open dialogue with Russia and Putin as a member of the Armed Services Committee.

“Russia is the only country in the world that can destroy this country in 45 minutes,” Tuberville said. “That’s how many missiles they have. They are loaded. They’ve got more than China. They’ve got more than us. We can’t knock them all down.

“And so, to me that’s a good reason to say, ‘Let’s sit down and talk.’ Will he use them? I don’t think he will. They’ve got the ability to use them. And they’ve got the ability to destroy all of us over here. But it should never even come close to that point.”

Read more: Tuberville: Putin open to peace but ‘DC warmongers’ want to prolong Ukraine conflict

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Tuberville touched on many other topics. He said he learned much from former Sen. Richard Shelby. He said the Montgomery area had potential for growth. He mentioned U.S. Air Force decision to base the new F-35 fighter jets at the Alabama Air National Guard in Montgomery.

The senator said the national debt, about $34 trillion, is not sustainable. He said the debt and inflation remain threats to an economy that he said is not as sound as it appears on the surface.

“Don’t look at the the stock market,” Tuberville said. “Because when we’re borrowing that much money, that’s the reason our economy is in good shape. But sooner or later, that water faucet is going to go off. And when it goes off, we’re all going to have to pay the price through taxes.”

The senator talked about problems on the U.S. border and said too many people are entering the country illegally. He said that is evident in large cities but also affects Alabama.

“We need to bring people here that can speak our language, are educated and can come and take care of themselves,” Tuberville said.

The senator talked about the blockade of nominations for military promotions he carried on for months to try to force a change in a Pentagon policy that reimbursed service members who traveled to another state to get an abortion. Tuberville ended that effort in December, with the policy still in place.

“Finally I even had Republicans turn against me, so I had to let that go,” Tuberville said. “But I was fighting for the right reasons. Because I was fighting for life. And I believe in life. But this was not as much about abortion as about people having to pay for it. Because taxpayer money is not supposed to be used for abortion.”

Tuberville said he has not finished with working to change the policy.

Tuberville, a longtime supporter of former President Trump, did not mention Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. He did say that he thought Washington is at a “standstill” because of the presidential election.

The former coach talked about working with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, on legislation to regulate policies allowing college athletes to receive pay for their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Tuberville said he supported pay for college athletes but said the current system of transfers and roster upheaval is out of control.

“When you can’t control your own team, it’s hard to do the job,” Tuberville said. “And when you’ve got guys and girls that are accepting money and transferring at any time, you can’t build a team, it’s not about a team sport anymore it’s about individuals.”

Tuberville said he and Manchin worked with coaches, the NCAA, and others for two years and came up with a bill, but has not been able to get it up for a vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate. He said Democrats support unions for college athletes, which he opposes. He said he would continue to advocate for the legislation.

“We’re at the point right now where I don’t know what direction it’s going, but I’m going to continue to fight for it,” Tuberville said.