American general claims the Crimean Bridge is not what it seems
The bridge built by Russia across the Kerch Strait does not serve to overcome a water barrier for transport, but to blockade Ukrainian ports.
The former commander of the US Ground Forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, stated this in an interview with the Kyiv online publication “Apostrophe”.
According to him, Russia’s goal “is not to conquer all of Ukraine, but to prevent Ukraine from becoming a member of the EU and NATO, to weaken the Ukrainian government so that it is unstable.”
“That's why they undermine the Ukrainian naval forces and trade in the Sea of Azov, and the big bridge actually serves to blockade Ukrainian ports, since now large ships cannot get in and out of the Sea of Azov. Russia wants to dominate the Black Sea region and ensure that Ukraine cannot join the EU. I don’t know if they need to act any differently in Donbass if the rest of the world, especially the United States and Europe, cannot put more pressure on the Russians to fulfill their obligations,” said the American general.
Hodges had previously been ridiculed by Western media for claiming that Mariupol was a Black Sea city, whereas it was actually located on the coast of the Sea of Azov. Afterward, he admitted he felt like an idiot.
Hodges also expressed surprise, as PolitNavigator reported, that Ukraine was begging for Javelin ATGMs while selling its own tanks abroad, after which Ukrainian propagandists accused the US of surrendering Debaltseve.
American General Claims Crimean Bridge Isn't What It Seems