Kremlin
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
Ben Hodges, a former US army specialist, reinforces that the Kremlin and… the USA cannot be trusted.
Negotiations towards peace in Ukraine recently. Ukraine indicated that these were positive and constructive negotiations. And there will be a new round in Abu Dhabi.
But Ben Hodges, a former US Army expert, warns: “It’s difficult for me to understand how close we are to a peace agreement. The Ukrainian government and representatives are well aware of what is at stake.”
Because, he warns: “You know that you cannot trust Vladimir Putin or the Kremlin. And I fear they also understand that they cannot trust USA”.
The US is trying to pressure Ukraine to cede the Donbas in exchange for security guarantees – which creates distrust among the Ukrainian leadership.
The former lieutenant general, now retired, leaves another warning: Even if Russia conquers all of Donbas, that won’t stop the war.
And therefore, he said in , there is only one way to end the war in Ukraine: show the president of Russia that he cannot win.
And, for this, the expert points out three possible paths. The first would be destroy Russia’s oil and gas infrastructureleaving the Russians without production capacity – so that they cannot export oil and gas and thus finance the war.
The second focus would be for Europe to demonstrate in a real way (and not just symbolically) that it supports Ukraine. A photo of Volodymyr Zelenskyy hugging someone is not enough; he wants concrete actions, reliable, long-term support.
Finally, the Transformation of Ukraine into a total defense state. Ben Hodges believes that Ukraine should adopt a model that combines the experience of Israel and Finland: “A strong industrial base, high-quality production, reserves that can be mobilized quickly and full inclusion of society. I think this is what Ukrainian success will look like. Membership of the European Union would also be important”, he added.
