Ben Hodges says multinational force to aid Ukraine would need thousands of troops to stop Russia breaking ceasefire
An Anglo-French led stabilisation force for Ukraine would have to deploy thousands of combat troops if it is to successfully dissuade Russia from breaking a post-war ceasefire, according to a former commanding general of the US army in Europe.
Ben Hodges said the proposed multinational force, discussed this week by the British and French leaders with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris, had to be robust enough to deal with likely Kremlin-orchestrated provocations.
“The coalition of the willing has to have real force and rules of engagement that allow it to immediately react and respond to any violations,” he said. “Captains can’t be having to call back to Paris or London to find out how to deal with a Russian drone”.
The retired general said: “Anybody who believes that Russia will live up to any agreement is not being realistic” – a reference in part to the period between 2014 and 2022 when there were repeated violations of the old ceasefire lines in Ukraine.
