The commander of the US army in Europe, Lt-Gen Frederick “Ben” Hodges, says in his interview to The Telegraph that NATO must remain united “as insurance” against Russia
Lt-Gen Frederick “Ben” Hodges stated that Russian Federation uses hybrid warfare and “is going unchallenged in the information war”:
“We talk about DIME: diplomacy, information, military and economy. An important aspect of how Russia operates is how they use information.
“They use information the way they use infantry and missiles. They’re not burdened by the truth. Most of the independent media has left Russia and a large percentage is government-owned or -dominated. They don’t have to worry about congressional or parliamentary oversight. There’s a constant bombardment of information.”
Russia, transatlantic security, more: @USArmyEurope Lt. General Hodges speaks to @Telegraph: http://t.co/0Pg0GE5GwG pic.twitter.com/LQd1jfa0mN
— US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) 19 Квітень 2015
As the commander of the US army in Europe noted, in recent years Russian Federation has been getting ready for war and has been spending heavily on modernising its military, especially in electronic warfare:
“The recent involvement of Russian forces in fighting in eastern Ukraine has shown that they have made huge advances, particularly in electronic warfare,” Gen Hodges said.
Lt-Gen Frederick “Ben” Hodges underlined that “Nato remains united in the face of Russian aggression” because of annexation of Crimea and invasion into Eastern Ukraine:
“If President Putin’s objective is to fracture the alliance, then he’s going about it the wrong way,” Gen Hodges said. “At the Wales summit there was a unity of the alliance I have not seen before, and it came about because of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and its use of force to change the borders of a sovereign country, Ukraine. It was a direct response to Russia’s behaviour in Crimea.”
Commander of US Army in Europe on Putin's threat–and how it is backfiring http://t.co/ed0nOinn0l pic.twitter.com/joJ2EqmgLl
— Canada at NATO (@CanadaNATO) 19 Квітень 2015
Gen Hodges admitted that NATO must stand together and be militarily ready as Russia has recently moved long-range nuclear-capable bombers to Crimea:
“I don’t think a military confrontation is inevitable. But you have to be militarily ready in order to enable effective diplomacy,” he said.
