Retired Gen. Hodges: NATO Not Prepared for War With Russia

Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said Wednesday that NATO is not prepared for a large-scale conventional war with Russia, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, the former commanding general of the United States Army Europe said that many European military and political leaders do not fully acknowledge that the alliance is lacking in several necessary things to be ready for a potential conflict with Moscow.

"We don't have adequate missile and air defense to protect our seaports, airports, and critical infrastructure," Hodges said, according to the Independent.

The Financial Times reported in May that NATO's eastern flank only has 5% of the air defense capabilities needed to repel an attack.

"We still ... cannot move quickly throughout Europe, so the issue of military mobility is still a challenge that needs to be resolved," Hodges said.

Hodges noted that if the Kremlin ordered an attack on NATO nations, Russian forces would immediately move to cripple critical European infrastructure that the alliance would need to respond.

"So imagine a week of what's happening in Ukraine to happen in Gdansk, or Klaipeda, or Tallinn, or Bremerhaven," Hodges said.

In a worst-case scenario, Lithuania would need to wait two weeks for reinforcements to arrive, he said.

Fears of a full-scale war between Moscow and NATO have grown since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine two years ago. In that time, many observers have voiced concerns about the West's inadequate defense-industrial base and battle readiness.

The retired U.S. general also said that the fighting forces of NATO countries must be ready to deploy much faster than they're currently able.

Western armies were ready to ship out within 24 hours during the Cold War, Hodges said, while today's militaries do not operate with the same mindset.

NATO needs to have the "courage to acknowledge what you see as a threat, and then start pulling ammunition out of bunkers, starting deploying troops to be prepared, and then you can be ready to go in two or three days where the risk this," he said.

Hodges said leaders of allied nations often hesitate to act quickly and decisively because they fear such action would be misinterpreted as provocation.

Additionally, the general called for ramping up ammunition production and exercises to increase NATO's military readiness.

"Ten and half years after Russia invaded Ukraine, and we still cannot provide enough ammunition for a week," Hodges said. "And we've emptied our bunkers to help."

According to the Independent, Hodges praised Poland's planned military overhaul and said European countries are "moving in a much better direction."

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