The situation for the Russians is getting worse every week, says former US General Hodges. Accordingly, he also expects Ukraine to celebrate further successes – such as the liberation of the annexed Crimea. At the same time, Putin will continue to try to spread fear in the West.
Former US General Ben Hodges believes that the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula can be liberated by next summer. “When I look at the situation, I see that the situation of the Russians is getting worse every week. They say war is a test of will and logistics – and on both counts Ukraine is far superior,” said the former Commander-in-Chief of the US Army in Europe of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
When asked how this war could end, the former three-star general replied: “The Russians have to lose – otherwise they’ll try again in two or three years.” Hodges listed what he means by “losing”: “Firstly, the liberation of all occupied territories and the restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty, including Donetsk, Luhansk and, of course, Crimea. Secondly, the return of the million or so Ukrainians who have lived since the beginning of the war abducted and deported. And then actually the prosecution of war crimes and the payment of reparations, but that would certainly only be the third step.”
According to Hodges, the Russian leadership under President Vladimir Putin has only “one hope” that the West will lose its support for Ukraine. “So they are doing everything they can to prolong the war and spread fear and insecurity in the West. All means are right for them: the young men who are now being called up as cannon fodder, as well as attacks on the infrastructure in the West,” said the ex general. “I believe that we will therefore experience more such acts of sabotage and attacks or at least attempts in the coming weeks and months.”
Crimea, annexed by Russia, recently came into focus again because of an explosion on the Crimea bridge, which is strategically important for Russia. According to Russian authorities, a truck with explosives exploded and set fire to a freight train with tankers traveling parallel on the bridge. Part of the road collapsed.
Moscow blamed the Ukrainian secret service for the incident and responded last Monday with massive rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure objects. The bridge is considered a military object for Kyiv. Some of the supplies for Russian troops in Crimea and southern Ukraine run through them. Train and car traffic resumed on the evening of the explosion. Trucks and buses had to switch to ferries across the Kerch Strait. The full repair of all damage to the bridge will take until July 2023, it said.
