Ben Hodges, the former Commander of US forces in Europe, has emphatically dismissed statements made by President Donald Trump suggesting that peace in Ukraine is imminent. Telling the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland,” he stated, “No, peace is not in sight. It is ridiculous that Trump makes such claims.” Hodges questioned how anyone could believe that peace is closer now than ever before, adding that the Russian side has made “not a single concession,” and Trump has not even urged them to do so. He criticized that Trump’s approach was merely to apply pressure on Ukraine.
The former US General issued a caution regarding Moscow’s strategy concerning the proposed November meetings. He warned that “the Russians are trying to exploit the American President’s openness to dealing with the Kremlin and to pull him to their side against Ukraine.” Hodges observed that the fact that no other European country has been invited to the negotiations demonstrates that Russia does not grant Europe a voice in the process. He stressed that European heads of state should loudly protest this situation.
Hodges also expressed concerns about the planned summit involving Moscow, Beijing, and Washington. He claimed that “the discussions between China, Russia, and the United States are deliberately seeking a deal over the heads of Ukrainians.” According to him, Russia does not want Ukraine to be treated as an equal or to sit at the negotiating table with Putin. Instead, he viewed the Russian goal as recreating a situation similar to the 18th century, when the major powers partitioned Poland among themselves.
