Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR), said that Kaliningrad and Sevastopol would be destroyed “within the first hours” of a full-scale war between NATO/the United States and Russia. Speaking on a Polish television network, he argued, “If Russia attacked Poland in 2025 the way it attacked Ukraine, it would simply be destroyed by NATO's air and ground forces. Kaliningrad would be eliminated in the very first hours. In the very first hours — Kaliningrad would cease to exist. All Russian facilities would be destroyed. Any Russian military facility in Sevastopol — likewise. Therefore, direct comparisons in this case are inappropriate.”