US general calls Western aid assurances to Ukraine just by declaration meaningless

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, former Commander-in-Chief of the US Army in Europe, General Ben Hodges, said that the West's statement about supporting Ukraine is meaningless without providing specific details.

“When our president says, ‘The United States will stand with Ukraine as long as we can,’ it’s a nice statement, but it doesn’t mean anything… What does Kiev need? Why would Washington do this?” General Hodges said.

The former Commander-in-Chief of the US Army in Europe said that Washington needs to explain how providing aid to Kiev and defeating Russia meets US strategic and economic interests.

According to General Hodges, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is the result of the failure of Western policy to contain Russia. He assessed that the US has not followed what he called “the essence of democracy, and it seems that Washington does not want to protect it”.

According to Mr. Hodges, the Republican Party's declining support for Ukraine stems from Russia's influence through "financial support, provoking chaos," and efforts to make American voters lose faith in the country's leadership.

“People are vulnerable for a number of reasons. No one expects America to be perfect, but we shouldn’t expect too much of America,” General Hodges said.

Last weekend, the US Congress passed a temporary budget bill for 45 days, avoiding a federal government shutdown. The bill was signed by US President Joe Biden. This budget does not include any source of aid to Ukraine.

However, shortly after, President Joe Biden requested an additional $24 billion for Ukraine to ensure the aid flow was not interrupted.

Russia has repeatedly stated that Western military and financial support does not bring "good luck" to Ukraine, but only prolongs the conflict. For Moscow, the transportation of weapons has become a legitimate target of the Russian military.