Ben Hodges, former commander of US Army forces in Europe, reported that he was the target of an assassination attempt in the summer of 2025, Dutch News reports. According to the general, there were attempts to kill him during his trip to events linked to the NATO Summit in The Hague, and a Russian sabotage group may have been involved.
According to him, an explosive device detonated on the roof of the train he was traveling on during the NATO summit.
He stresses that European authorities often avoid officially recognizing such incidents as terrorist acts in order not to create the impression of helplessness in the face of Russian influence operations.
“Those are not teenagers. Somebody orchestrated attacks on the rail system in the Netherlands… this is from the Russians,” he told reporters.
"Russians are not interested in peace"
General Hodges has been one of the most consistent supporters of Ukraine since 2014. He has repeatedly stated that the war will not end in 2026 because Russia is not interested in peace without strong external pressure, and he has criticized the US for indecisiveness.
He says that Moscow is already waging war against the West, but does so in a hybrid way, so that politicians find it difficult to say directly, “This is a Russian attack.”
Sabotage against ports prepares ground for more attacks
Hodges believes that a series of acts of sabotage against airports, seaports, and railway lines is part of a reconnaissance by force, as per Polsat News.
They are probing, training, and testing how we respond to disruptions of the transport network. This would be part of any major Russian attack, he says.
At the same time, neither the authorities of the Netherlands nor NATO structures have officially confirmed information about preparations for an attack. Representatives of Dutch Railways told Dutch News that the relevant services “did not even know what General Hodges was talking about.”
