Until 2017, US General Ben Hodges was Commander-in-Chief of US troops in Europe. The 64-year-old reserve officer is married to a German woman and lives in Frankfurt am Main. In an extensive interview with the authoritative German newspaper Die Zeit, the general also commented on widespread fears that Russia could use nuclear weapons, writes DW.
“The answer will be devastating for Russia”
Hodges takes the threat seriously, but believes a nuclear strike is unlikely – because it does not give Putin a tactical advantage. However, the general warns that in the event of a nuclear strike, the West and NATO will respond.
“And the answer will be devastating for Russia. By the way, this answer does not need to be nuclear at all. (…) We can imagine several things. Our F-35 stealth fighters can destroy Russian units in Ukraine – it will not take much “Vladimir Putin could lose most of his Black Sea Fleet and suffer many other losses. The response of Western troops will in any case be devastating for the Russian army. And without the use of nuclear weapons.”
“He’s a brutal aggressor, but he’s not crazy. Besides, there are people around him who need to know that life goes on after Putin. Because the rules are such that he can’t push the button himself. Besides, I guess ours the government has made it clear to the Kremlin what will happen if someone detonates an atomic bomb. “
“I overestimated the Russians,” he said. “I knew, of course, that there was corruption in both the government and the army. But I didn’t realize how deep this swamp was. Apparently a lot of people put a lot of money in their pockets and the soldiers didn’t get what they needed. If we rethink it now – everything is the same. If we carefully analyze the Russian operations of recent years – Georgia, Syria, Crimea – we will immediately see that only a small part of Russia’s armed forces is involved in hostilities, mostly paratroopers, special forces and the Wagner mercenaries. Most of the army has no experience at all. “
“According to current estimates, the Russians are able to gather 900,000 combat-ready troops, but today I think there are hardly more than 500,000. Putin simply has too many dead people in his army. This is a consequence of classic corruption. they have to pay so many soldiers, but in fact they pay no more than half. The rest of the money goes to the chiefs. “
“Prussian general and military theorist Karl von Clausewitz writes that with each offensive comes a climax, when the attackers lose energy for further offensive. I think the Russians are experiencing this culmination right now. In the coming weeks, the Ukrainians may launch a counteroffensive. However, when the Russians realize that they have reached the climax, then they will begin to strike even harder with what they have, that is, with even more artillery. And the situation could become even more appalling, “he said. more Ben Hodges.
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