HODGES: EUROPE CAN WARN UKRAINE OF BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCHES—IF IT CHOOSES TO
Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the former commander of U.S. Army Europe, says Ukraine does not have to remain entirely dependent on Washington for advance warning of Russian ballistic missile launches.
“A large amount of the intelligence that the U.S. uses comes from allies,” Hodges said. “France, Germany, Britain, Poland and Finland can provide Ukraine with data that will give advance warning of ballistic missile launches. It is a matter of political will.”
His comments follow successive Russian ballistic attacks on Kyiv for which Ukraine says it received no advance warning from its partners. One strike hit CHP-4 and a residential building. The next bombardment damaged all three of Kyiv’s combined heat and power plants as Russia launched 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones.
Washington insists intelligence sharing with Ukraine continues, but that does not explain why the warnings failed to arrive when Russian missiles were already moving toward the capital.
Europe possesses its own satellites, ground-based radars, signals intelligence and monitoring systems. No single European country can immediately reproduce every American capability, but Hodges argues that their combined resources could provide Ukraine with a dependable alternative warning network.
That warning may offer only minutes, but minutes matter. They allow air-defense crews to prepare, emergency systems to activate and civilians to reach shelter before a ballistic missile arrives.
If Washington is becoming an unreliable link, Europe has both the technology and the responsibility to help close the gap. As Hodges made clear, the remaining question is not whether Europe possesses the information.
It is whether Europe is willing to provide it in time.