General Ben Hodges, the former commander of US forces in Europe, says the Russian military leadership is behaving like “warlords” over whom President Vladimir Putin has lost control.

Speaking about the long-awaited Ukrainian offensive, Hodges said in an interview with Radio Times reporters that “the Russian defenders will give way because in most of those trenches, the soldiers sitting there in those trenches and bunkers, I don’t think they are well trained, sure, disciplined”.

“So the potential for the same breakthrough of the front (not like in Kharkiv last September), I mean the potential is very real,” he added.

When asked about the apparent conflicts between the mercenary head of the “Wagner” PMC, Yevhen Prigozhin, and the military command in Moscow, Hodges replied that “these guys are like commanders.”

“On the one hand you have Mr. Kadyrov, a Chechen, then you have Prigozhin and Wagner and several other groups of mercenaries, and then you have the so-called regular Russian forces. I think they are all trying to figure out how to stay alive and what their status will be when this war ends and Ukraine wins. Do they want to be saviors for Russia, do they want to be heroes for President Putin, or are they waiting for an opportunity to distance themselves?”, said the American general.

He also said that while he does not know how things will develop in this regard, “the good news for Ukraine and for us is that this incoherence and hatred between different leaders on the Russian side ensures that they will not have a coherent defense plan, and they will not be able to wage their defensive battle in some degree of concertedness.’

General Hodges, confident in the Ukrainian offensive

Asked what the Ukrainian offensive might look like, Hodges said that “what I think we’re going to see, what I hope we’re going to see, is a reward for the training that’s been done by the British military, the American military and other allies, to help Ukrainian forces launch a joint attack.”

It will be recalled that during the last months after the failure of the first stage of the Russian invasion, many military analysts noted that one of the great gaps in Moscow’s forces was their inability to conduct a combined military offensive, that is, large-scale attacks in which infantry, armored and mechanized units, engineering units, aviation, artillery and other types of troops to coordinate in a unified manner.

“I think there will be two or three attempts to break through [a liniilor rusești] and one or two that are decoys to mislead [trupele rusești ] or support [a ofensivei principale ucrainene] so that the Russians will not be able to understand where exactly it will take place,” said the American general about what Kyiv’s offensive might look like.

“I think there is potential for them (Ukrainians) to succeed, because if you are not well trained, disciplined and confident, you panic if you hear that the enemy has crossed your line or is behind you.” – he added regarding the state of training of the Russian troops.

The full interview with General Ben Hodges can be viewed below:

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