U.S. Commander in Europe Gen. Ben Hodges Endorses Weapons for Kiev

In a speech in Berlin last night, Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of the U.S. armed forces in Europe, said that Western diplomacy needed a “muscle” to get the right message to Russia:

“If you don’t have something that gives muscle to the diplomacy, to the economic aspect, then it’s not going to be as effective.”

But, while going on to blast and threaten Russia, Hodges also announced, in an exclusive interview with World Bulletin March 3, that the U.S. was putting on hold its training mission to Ukraine—pre-announced to be 600 troops to work with the National Guard—to see if the Minsk accords succeeded.

Hodges said that helping Ukraine with weapons would increase pressure on President Vladimir Putin at home.

“When mothers start seeing sons come home dead, when that price goes up, then that domestic support begins to shrink.”

Hodges did not specify what weapons could be offered, but said that what Ukraine wants “is intelligence, counter-fire capability and something that can stop a Russian tank.” Russia has 12,000 soldiers and heavy weapons in eastern Ukraine, plus another 29,000 in Crimea, and is maintaining another 50,000 close to the border with Ukraine, Hodges asserted.