Russia has big problems, even without US aid to Ukraine - Hodges
Former U.S. Commander in Europe Ben Hodges believes that the war in Ukraine creates serious difficulties for Russia regardless of U.S. aid, and that freezing it in the long run could even harm Moscow.
He said this in a comment to Newsweek, Censor.NET reports.
"Russia is really in big trouble... The premise that the administration (of the United States - ed.) uses when it says: "Ukraine, you have no cards" is simply not true. The Russians are in big trouble. The Ukrainians have stopped them, even though we have not even committed to helping them win," Hodges emphasized.
The general acknowledged that the possible termination of US military assistance to Ukraine would be a difficult test for Kyiv and Europe, but it could encourage European allies to support Ukraine more actively.
"Imagine if more than 20 European countries finally rediscover their strategic basis and start combining their incredible industrial capacities, which dwarf what Russia has. We will regret that they united and did it without us (the United States - ed.) and in spite of us. And we will lose a lot of influence," Hodges said.
Suspension of US aid
On the morning of March 4, it became known that US President Donald Trump had ordered the suspension of all US military aid to Ukraine in order to force Kyiv to demonstrate a "good faith commitment" to peace.
One U.S. official told CNN that the consequences of the suspension of U.S. military aid will be felt in some time. Perhaps a few days or weeks. However, as soon as the stockpiles of weapons and armaments begin to run out, the country will face serious consequences.
According to journalist Ostap Yarysh, the US decision to suspend assistance to Ukraine will primarily affect the supply of missiles to air defense and ammunition for HIMARS and artillery.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tahkna emphasized that the US decision to temporarily suspend military aid to Ukraine means that Europe must help Ukraine more and faster than before to fill this gap.
The Economist article says that the US decision to suspend aid to Ukraine will lead to more casualties and destruction. The critical elements, the newspaper writes, are weapons, their repair, air defense missiles, the Starlink system, and, perhaps most importantly, intelligence sharing.
Chief National Security Advisor to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Marius Česnulevičius, said that Washington's decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine was not a surprise. However, Europe is preparing a response.
Later, The Economist wrote that there is currently no official order from Donald Trump to suspend military aid to Ukraine.
