The posture of the American president, Donald Trumpabout seeking a quick end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, has found more detractors than followers. Ben Hodgesformer commander of the US Army in Europe, has been one of the latest people to criticize Trump’s approach.
“What I keep hearing is the emphasis on ‘stop the fight, stop the fight now'”says Hodges in one. A rhetoric that doubts will be liked in Ukraine: “I’m not sure Ukrainians want to stop the fighting if it means Russia can take large swaths of Ukrainian territory.”. “That’s bad news for Ukrainians living inside Russian-occupied territory,” he adds.
Something that he did like about the new American administration were General Kellogg’s statements that peace will take a while and that Russia cannot be trusted: “I like the fact that General Kellogg said Russia can’t be trusted. It’s an important statement if you’re talking about negotiations with Russia: for the lead negotiator to say, ‘We can’t trust the Russians.’ That’s true“.
In any case, he acknowledges that he is not clear about what Trump’s real plan is, since he sends contradictory messages: “I don’t know what the Trump administration is going to do.. They send different signswhich tells me that they themselves are not completely sure“.
Biden hasn’t done enough
Regarding the performance of former President Joe Biden, the former commander has the feeling that he did not do enough: “I feel ashamed and disappointed that we, the United States and our other allies and supporters of Ukraine, we have not delivered everything that was needed quickly enough“.
“I think that, despite all the good things that the Biden administration did for Ukraine, It was never enough because the administration was not committed to helping Ukraine win. He just wanted to make sure Ukraine didn’t lose. And that is not the correct strategic approach,” he criticizes.
In this sense, Hodges shows his desire for the Ukrainian industry to continue growingwhich European countries send more aid and that, “at some point, The US government, under the Trump administration, also realizes that it is in our best interest to provide Ukraine with what it needs.“.
Worried about European fatigue
Another issue that worries Hodges is the growing fatigue of European allies regarding support for Ukraine. While countries like Germany and Poland have provided substantial support, other allies appear less committed.
In this sense, Hodges believes that Europe must make a greater effort to achieve the collapse of Russia, especially countries with great defense industrial capabilities such as France and Italy. “France, in particular, has high-quality artillery and air defense systems that Ukraine desperately needs”he assures.
It also emphasizes the importance of Ukraine maintaining its own weapons and equipment production capacityarguing that relying exclusively on foreign aid is not a sustainable long-term solution: “Ukraine It has a solid industrial base, and with the right investments, it can produce much of what it needs“.
Ukraine’s great challenge
Looking ahead, Hodges identifies one of the biggest challenges Ukraine will face in the next six months: maintain morale and the will to fight, not only among soldiers, but among the population in general.
After almost three years of war, the tension is immense, and the challenge will be to continue sustaining the war effort without internal wear and tear undermining popular support. To achieve this, Ukraine must continue to seek international support, increase its internal production capacity and take care of its population, especially displaced people and veterans..
