Former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis criticized Russia’s war in Ukraine, calling it “immoral” and “operationally stupid,” while speaking Friday at the 2022 Seoul Forum.
“We have a saying in America, we say nations with allies thrive, nations without allies are withering and right now we are seeing Russia wither before our eyes,” Mattis said.
When asked what military lessons could be learned from the war so far, the former U.S. Marine said, “One is not to have incompetent generals in charge of your operations.”
He also called Russia’s military performance “pathetic” and denounced the “immoral, tactically incompetent, operationally stupid and strategically stupid effort” of its campaign in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending a press conference after meeting with his Indonesian counterpart in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia, on June 30th. (Alexander Zemlianichenko / AFP / Getty Images)
Mattis spoke of previous U.S. efforts to try to introduce Russia into the “community of nations,” but said it was not possible with Vladimir Putin as leader.
“The tragedy of our time is that Putin is a creature straight out of Dostoevsky. He goes to bed every night angry, he goes to bed every night in fear, he goes every night thinking that Russia is surrounded by nightmares and that has guided him, ”he said.
Putin had removed anyone from his circle who disagreed with him, so he “probably thought the Ukrainian people would welcome him,” Mattis added.