Putin Has Lost Venezuela, Syria, Iran and Now Hungary

(KYIV, UKRAINE) – The electoral defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has shifted momentum in Ukraine’s favour and demonstrated that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is losing control over his allies, a senior Western military analyst has said.

Lieutenant General Ben Hodges (Retired), former commanding general of the United States Army Europe, told Times Radio’s Frontline programme that Russian influence across its neighbouring states was visibly declining.

“Russian influence is just not what it was,” Lieutenant General Hodges said. “That footprint.”

He noted that countries which Russia had supported in the past were now receiving no assistance. Venezuela, Armenia and Syria had all been abandoned. An attempt to influence an election in Moldova had failed.

“Only in Georgia have the Russians been able to maintain this direct sort of influence, and of course obviously Belarus,” he added. “The Russians’ ability to influence what is going on inside the boundaries of their neighbours is decreasing.”

Lieutenant General Hodges attributed the decline partly to Russia’s failures on the battlefield and its inability to win the war it started against Ukraine. He also praised European countries for stepping up their support for Kyiv, while noting that the United States was not playing a helpful role in providing assistance.

The general said Viktor Orban’s loss to Peter Magyar in the Hungarian election was a significant development. Magyar had indicated he would unlock a €90 billion loan facility for Ukraine. The sum is equivalent to approximately 97.2 billion US dollars at current exchange rates.

Lieutenant General Hodges described the funding as vital, warning that Ukraine was only a couple of months away from running out of money entirely. He said the psychological impact of removing Orban, whom he called a Russian fuelled and Russian influenced voice from EU and NATO tables in Brussels, would also be important.

The general expressed concern about Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, hoping he would not “carry the torch for the Russians”. He also noted that Andrej Babis in the Czech Republic remained a problem, despite the country having a former NATO chairman as president.

Lieutenant General Hodges observed that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin appeared to have lost multiple allies. He listed Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, influence in Syria, and effectively Iran, before noting the loss of Hungary as a European Union link.

“He’s lost Maduro in Venezuela. He’s lost his influence into Syria. He’s lost Iran now effectively. And now lost his link in the European Union,” the general said.

When asked whether Putin would be feeling more isolated, Lieutenant General Hodges said the Russian dictator’s ability to influence events inside neighbouring countries was decreasing partly because of military failures in Ukraine.

The general also addressed the evolving nature of modern warfare, describing how Ukrainian forces were successfully integrating unmanned ground vehicles, aerial drones and maritime systems. He said the side that wins a conflict was usually the one able to integrate and adapt to new technologies.

However, he cautioned that while technology changes the character of war, the nature of war – including violence, uncertainty and the need to control land and populations – remains unchanged. He noted that robotics could not yet manage direct interfaces with civilians in captured villages.

Lieutenant General Hodges said momentum had clearly shifted in Ukraine’s favour. He pointed to the absence of previous narratives about inevitable Russian victories and noted that discussions about artillery ammunition and personnel shortages had largely disappeared from public conversation, even though those issues persisted.

He observed that Putin had been unusually quiet, with additional air defence assets moved around the Russian dictator’s accommodation in or just outside Moscow. On the front lines, Lieutenant General Hodges said, Ukrainian forces were advancing and penetrating Russian defences.

At the operational level, he described the Russians as “impotent” when trying to stop Ukrainian attacks against their oil and gas infrastructure and defence manufacturing facilities. He identified Ukraine’s ability to destroy Russian oil and gas export capabilities at range as a potential path to victory.

“If they can damage Russia’s export ability so significantly that they can no longer afford the war, then the oligarchs start getting very uncomfortable with all of this,” he said.

Lieutenant General Hodges argued that European nations should defend themselves by ensuring Ukraine wins, which meant investing in Ukrainian defence and providing long range weapons to continue striking Russian oil and gas infrastructure.

He noted that Russia’s vast size, once an asset, had become a liability in modern warfare. Long range precision weapons meant the Russians could not cover all of their territory, a weakness Ukraine was exploiting.

The general also reminded listeners that the fourth anniversary of the sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva had recently passed, noting that the Black Sea Fleet was no longer a topic of serious discussion. He acknowledged that Russian attacks against civilian targets remained a problem, comparing the situation to needing to kill all the archers or improve Ukraine’s ability to knock down the arrows.

Lieutenant General Hodges concluded that Budanov, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, appeared slightly optimistic, sensing that the Russians were looking for a way out of the conflict.

Interview conducted by Times Radio’s Frontline programme.