Today at 01:04
Can Ukraine hold the line as Russia considers a new front near Sumy?
General Ben Hodges, former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, joins us to reveal the latest dynamics of the fighting, Berlin’s hesitation over TAURUS missiles, and how long-range weapons could be crucial to Ukraine’s survival.
We also discuss the unexpected signals from the Trump camp on Russia, and how US domestic policy could change the trajectory of the war. Also: Is Germany secretly helping Ukraine build its own missiles? And how can Kyiv’s departure from the Soviet style of governance lead to a long-term victory?
— In your opinion, on what’s been happening in Sumy these days—Russians have been taking some little villages and have been sort of advancing in parts of other villages—and there is a lot of talk about an offensive on Sumy to create a sort of buffer gray zone. What do you think about it?
— I think it’s clear that after 11 years, Russia does not have the capability to knock Ukraine out of the war. They had every advantage—air, land, sea, industry, population—and yet here we are in May 2025, and Russia still is unable to make any large, significant gains.
They lack the capability to exploit even the small gains they do make.
Obviously, for Ukrainian soldiers fighting in all these different places where the Russians are launching their attacks, it’s hell for them. It’s very difficult. But I think from a strategic standpoint, the Russians cannot overrun or knock Ukraine out. So, the West has to keep providing capabilities that Ukraine needs—whether it’s ammunition, weapons, or investing in Ukraine’s ability to produce its own weapons.
This is a war of attrition. Ukraine still has to solve its manpower problems. I believe there are enough women and men of military age in Ukraine who could fill the ranks, but the government has to earn the confidence of the population that Ukrainian women and men will not just be fed into the meat grinder, but will be properly equipped and trained before they are sent to battle.
It’s hard to understand exactly what Russia is trying to accomplish in the immediate and near term. Either they’re trying to create as much space as they can in anticipation of eventually getting to negotiations—to change the facts on the ground or create new ones. But at the end of the day, they’re going to keep doing what they’re doing. They don’t care about their own casualties. They’ll continue until they have achieved their strategic objective, which is the destruction of Ukraine as a state.
— They certainly are never going to stop. And they have been bringing their troops towards the Finnish border. Finland is getting a bit queasy about it, obviously and understandably so. What do you think about the possibility of the Finnish front opening—which is a very ironic name, considering there was already one Finnish front war, the Finnish Winter War, in World War II?
— That would be a catastrophe for Russia.
They’ve already demonstrated they cannot defeat Ukraine, and to open up a new front somewhere else would be a catastrophe.
To attack Finland, which is much better prepared than Ukraine was three and a half years ago, would be a catastrophe for Russia. I’m skeptical about reports that they might do this.
Perhaps they’re wanting to test whether the alliance is really willing to respond to something like this. The goal from Moscow has always been—even during the Cold War—to break NATO and drive a wedge between the U.S. and Europe. Perhaps they’re thinking that if they attack somewhere inside Finland, the U.S. or other countries would not actually respond. That would be terrible for the alliance.
I think there are probably some Finns hoping the Russians would actually do this, because they are so much better prepared, better trained, better equipped than Russian forces. That could change the whole strategic dynamic. I’m skeptical that Russia has the ability to open up something new at this time. I think they’re testing their boundaries and seeing how much they can do to push NATO. That’s what they’ve been doing. And NATO hasn’t really been giving Russia a proper response. It’s always been delayed or not enough.
— Speaking of that—the U.S., at the head of NATO, has had the new administration for over three months now. There has been this negotiation for peace going on, which I say “negotiation” with a large rock of salt. Realistically, since Donald Trump and his administration entered this communication, it’s gotten far worse for Ukraine. There have been a lot more aerial attacks. Russia has been feeling like they can do a lot more. What do you think this current administration is mishandling with this war—and why?
— The Trump administration’s approach has been doomed to failure from the beginning. They never understood or appreciated the geography, the culture, the history, the reason why this is happening—or they didn’t care. It was a terrible day when the president yelled at President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office and said, “You got no cards.” I thought, “What are you talking about?” That confirmed for me that the White House and the administration don’t understand why Ukrainians are fighting or what’s at stake.
The whole approach has been doomed from the beginning. The administration gave away so much leverage from the beginning. When they started by saying, “Ukraine’s going to have to give up some land, obviously,”—why is that your starting point?
My hope all along was that the president would finally realize he was being mocked and getting no respect from the Kremlin, and that he would finally get so irritated that he would do something. But what we saw again yesterday—he says, “We’ll know in about two weeks.” What else does the Kremlin have to do to convince him?
I don’t think it’s ever going to happen.
I have zero confidence that President Trump or his administration will do anything to help Ukraine in a meaningful way—until I see an agreement to sell Patriot systems and other things to Ukraine, and real economic pressure implemented.
President Trump could wreck Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure right now by blocking the movement of the Shadow Fleet vessels and by manipulating the market to drive oil prices so low that it would wreck Russia. He’s not willing to do that. I have no confidence this administration is going to do anything to help Ukraine.
Read also: Ukraine has struck the Kerch Bridge for the third time — Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)
