– Unfortunately, I have zero confidence that this administration is going to provide aid to Ukraine, says the retired Lt. General of the US Army, Ben Hodges, in a phone call with EuropeLive24.
Hodges served as the commander of US Army Europe from 2014 to 2018, and is now affiliated with the think-tank GLOBSEC.
Aid is running out
He warns that the US military aid approved under Biden will probably run out around the end of June.
– I hope I’m wrong, but what we see is a continuous failure of the Trump administration to even hold Russia accountable.
On May 28, US President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he will know in “two weeks” whether Russian president Vladimir Putin is serious about ending the war in Ukraine.
Since late April, Trump has repeatedly told reporters that he will wait “two weeks” when discussing decision about Ukraine.
– Bowing his head to Putin
Hodges is skeptical and doesn’t believe Trump will do anything to help Ukraine.
For months he has been hoping that President Trump would get angry with Putin for making him look foolish. Motivating Trump to use economic leverage against Russia, and giving Ukraine weapons.
– But so far, all he does is bow his head to Putin.
Following the recent extensive Russian air attacks on Ukrainian cities, Trump took to his own social media Truth Social, saying that Putin had gone “absolutely crazy”.
– I mean, one tweet saying he’s gone crazy, that’s ridiculous. Putin has not changed in 20 years. The only thing that’s crazy is thinking that somehow Trump may change his mind, he argues.
– And also, of course, he criticizes Zelensky in the same breath. He absolutely does not care about Ukraine, not one drop, he adds.
A big F you
Shortly after Trump’s post, Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Trump had an “emotional overload”.
– I mean, that’s a big, gigantic F you to Trump, Hodges emphasizes. He adds that every time they talk or do anything, the Russians launch hundreds of drones against Ukrainian civilians.
– They have zero respect for this administration, the retired General states.
According to Hodges, Trump doesn’t care about any of the values or the principles that normally drive American foreign policy.
– Respect for sovereignty, respect for international law, freedom of navigation. All those things. Zero, claims Hodges.
Invading other European countries
The former US Army Europe commander thinks European countries have realized that they have to fill in what Ukraine needs to withstand Russia.
Otherwise they are going to be dealing with Russia invading other European countries, he warns.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to buy 10 US-made Patriot air defense systems from USA for 15 billion dollars. The day after, Trump dismissed the offer, accusing him of “always looking to purchase missiles”, while blaming Kyiv for instigating the war with Russia.
Won’t sell to Ukraine
The fact that the American President refused the arms deal is one of the things that has puzzled Hodges the most.
– This makes you wonder, well, why is that? I mean, this would be great for American business.
On May 27, Trump wrote in another post on Truth Social that “If it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened in Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD”.
– That’s an admission to the entire world that Trump is protecting Putin, while Putin continues to kill innocent Ukrainian civilians and threaten other European countries.
The Great Question
When asked why he thinks Trump doesn’t put any pressure on Russia and Putin, Hodges slows down.
– That’s the great question that people have been trying to answer, he says thoughtfully.
While some speculate about Trump’s motives, Hodges believes it is psychological.
– He sees himself as one of the two or three great leaders ruling over the entire world. That Putin and Xi are his two colleagues, and they get to have their sphere, and Trump has his sphere, he reflects.
To him, it’s clear that Trump isn’t driven by any moral principle.
– So I think what drives him is what will enrich him and his people around him. There is no moral principle behind what he does, the retired General states.
Many world leaders and commentators have openly hoped or urged that President Trump would take a tougher stance on Russia and resume or increase U.S. military aid to Ukraine, but so far, he has not taken such steps.
Hodges thinks the only thing that would make a real change is when Trump realizes that the Russians are mocking him, or he feels pressure from his own political party.
– The Republicans in Congress finally rediscovering their strategic backbone and their moral courage and saying it’s unacceptable that the United States is failing to help Ukraine and that somehow this administration is taking the side of the Kremlin. It’s unbelievable, he exclaims.
– Embarrassing
He says he’s sure there are enough Republicans in the Senate and in the House that would be willing to do this, but believes that they are “scared to death” of Trump, or retribution from Trump.
– It’s embarrassing. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Despite his concerns, Hodges holds out hope for change in the 2026 midterms, urging Congress to “fulfill their oath to the Constitution and do what’s right.”