On December 2, Mr Ben Hodges, retired Lieutenant General of the US Army, ex-commander of the US Army in Europe and Doctoris Honoris of Ostroh Academy, delivered the sixteenth lecture at the National University of Ostroh Academy. Lecture topic: "Ukraine's Security Architecture After a Ceasefire: Mechanisms, Guarantees, and Long-Term Scenarios".
Ben Hodges shared his views on what Ukraine's security architecture might look like after a possible ceasefire. He highlighted the key challenges the country may face during this period.
The most important quotes from the lecture are as follows:
- "It is unacceptable for Ukraine to give up the territories Russia claims; it is non-negotiable for Ukraine."
- "It is important that everyone responsible for conducting war crimes during this war will be brought to responsibility."
- "All the decisions about Ukraine should be made by you, not by others for you."
- "Ukraine looks like Finland with a strong defence industry and a society with a high ability to mobilise available resources."
- "Even NATO is not a guarantee; it gives a guarantee that people will come to help."
- "The next thing Ukraine would do to deter Russia from future attack is to work more closely with its neighbours. Including Belarus and Hungary, and the states with which Ukraine has tough relations and historical disputes."
- "Ukraine should also keep developing its own defence industry, because today Ukraine already uses 50% of the ammunition produced by itself."
- "The last thing I would mention is manpower. It is always discussed in the world, 'Why should we help Ukraine if hundreds of thousands of military-aged men are outside of Ukraine?' It is not fair, but it is a fact. But the thing is, people need to be confident that they will not be sent to the frontier until they are equipped and well prepared. It is the question of regaining confidence."
