Hodges: Putin can’t eliminate Ukrainian Armed Forces bridgehead in Kursk region of Russia
A new offensive by Ukrainian defenders in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation should prove that Russia is actually in a much weaker position than a year ago, and that Ukraine is not losing.
This was stated by retired U.S. Lieutenant General and former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe Ben Hodges, Voice of America reports, Censor.NET reports.
He is amazed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been holding the Kursk bridgehead since August 2024, and even managed to build up new military forces for a new offensive unnoticed by Russia.
"This tells me that the Ukrainian forces have become even more experienced and capable of using electronic warfare and what we call operational security," he said.
He also said that this offensive by Ukrainian troops also creates political pressure on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who "tried to ignore" the Ukrainian offensive in August and then twice said that he had to be removed by October 1 or January 1.
Obviously, they didn't succeed. And so he has a real dilemma that his forces are not able to completely eliminate this bridgehead of the Ukrainian armed forces inside Russia," the retired lieutenant general emphasized.
According to Hodges, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive disrupts Russia's plans to retain the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories during possible future negotiations.
"I don't think Russia would have agreed to Ukraine keeping part of the Kursk region. So, for me, it underscores the real brilliance of the Ukrainian general staff in launching this counteroffensive back in August," Hodges added.
He believes that Ukraine has thus gained an important lever of influence "at the most fundamental level."