Retired U.S. Army General Ben Hodges said Ukraine’s growing long-range strike capabilities could increasingly threaten Russian oil refineries and export infrastructure deep inside Russian territory.
Speaking to geopolitical commentator Pyotr Kurzin on the YouTube channel Pyotr Kurzin | Geopolitics in an interview published on June 9, Hodges described attacks on Russia’s oil and gas export infrastructure as part of what he called “a multi-tiered, multifaceted, comprehensive approach.”
“I think this is the path to victory for Ukraine,” Hodges said. “As Ukraine’s capabilities with long-range precision strike continue to get better and as they get more of these, then I think there will not be a single refinery or export hub that will escape Ukrainian attack.”
According to Hodges, such attacks are unlikely to end the war in the coming months but could have a growing impact over time.
During the interview, Kurzin argued that Ukrainian strikes are generally directed against specific military or strategic targets rather than civilian areas. Hodges agreed.
“Yeah, 100%,” he said.
Hodges contrasted Ukrainian operations with Russian missile strikes, saying there have been “so many reports of missiles slamming into apartment blocks and hospitals and shopping centers.”
He added that attacks against civilian infrastructure, including power plants, are “all illegal under international law.”
The retired general also claimed that Russian officers involved in ordering or carrying out such strikes could face consequences in the future.
“Every officer that was anywhere in the chain of command for making these decisions, whether it was targeting or executing the strikes, for the rest of his life is going to have to be checking under his car and looking over his shoulder because the GUR is going to hunt them down,” Hodges said.
Discussing Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries, Hodges argued that targeting specific components that are difficult to replace can have a greater effect than causing easily repairable damage.
He also pointed to attacks against Russian naval vessels, including ships undergoing repairs in dockyards, as examples of targets that can have significant military value.
Hodges further argued that Russia’s vast geography, historically considered one of its strategic advantages, has become more difficult to defend against modern long-range precision weapons.
“That vastness becomes a vulnerability because the Russians cannot protect everything,” he said. “I think the Ukrainians are going to make them pay for that.”
The interview, titled “Putin’s War is Exposing Russia’s Biggest Problem | Ben Hodges,” was published on June 9 by the Pyotr Kurzin | Geopolitics YouTube channel.
