Former commander of US forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, noted that the Russians have not given up and have not changed their plans. He talked about it in an interview. 24 Channel.
To the topic Even with the 15th place in the world: because the military power of Ukraine is still underestimated
Russia must be defeated on the battlefield
Russia will not give up its maximalist goals. Therefore, the idea of peaceful negotiations with the occupiers is not realistic at this stage.
The Russians didn’t give up. Furthermore, they have not changed their strategic plans and maximalist goals. Therefore, in my opinion, the idea of u200bu200bsome kind of negotiation with Russia is now unrealistic. Russia just needs to be defeated on the battlefield. The West must continue to work together and send everything we promised to Ukraine. Furthermore, the sanctions cannot be lifted.
said Hodges.
Russia’s only chance of winning is to prolong the war
Hodges believes the only way the Kremlin can succeed in the war with Ukraine is to prolong it. Moscow hopes that in this case the West will begin to lose its desire to help Ukraine and will put pressure on Kiev to enter into negotiations with the Ukrainian authorities.
Yes, that is likely to happen. Therefore, I think the Russians will keep hitting the Ukrainian infrastructure, as long as they have enough missiles,
– he said.
He is convinced that Russia will continue to send inexperienced mobilized soldiers to the battlefield “only in a meat grinder” in order to drag out the hostilities as long as possible. This is the occupiers’ only hope, since they will not be able to restore military power in the next few years.
