U.S. Officials Detect ‘Morale Problems’ During High-Level Meeting After Russian General Calls War in Ukraine ‘Tragic’

U.S. military officials have released a readout of a recent meeting with their Russian counterparts that signals morale is low in the Motherland.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has dragged on for nearly than a month, deaths are mounting. While it is unclear how many Russians have been killed in the offensive, it is in the thousands.

To complicate matters, Russian forces are facing hunger, fuel shortages, extreme cold and determined defenders.

According to CNN’s Barbara Starr, a U.S. military officials recently met with two Russian generals in Moscow. Those officials said in a summary document they detected stress within the highest ranks of Russia’s armed forces.

Starr reported the readout contained a “revealing moment” in the meeting from Russian Major General Yevgeny Ilyin.

Starr, who reviewed the readout, reported,

As the meeting ended, the readout says an attache on the U.S. side casually asked about Ilyin’s family roots in Ukraine. According to the readout, the U.S. official said the general’s stoic demeanor suddenly became flushed and agitated. Ilyin replied he was born in Ukraine and went to school in Donetsk. And then said, according to the readout, “The situation in Ukraine is tragic, and I am very depressed over it,” before walking out without shaking hands.

U.S. officials wrote in the readout that “the fire in his eyes and flustered demeanor left a chill down the spine.”

“Meetings with Russian officials are typically scripted, but the two attaches said they had never witnessed such an outburst by Russian counterparts at an official meeting,” Starr reported.

The readout of the rare meeting concluded, “At the very least, it is clear that morale problems among Russian forces are not limited to frontline troops.”

Starr cautioned that the readout does not definitively explain Ilyin’s behavior.

The CNN reporter further noted that the Kremlin has challenged reports that morale is low among Russian troops. She said Russia’s Ministry of Defense declined to comment on her report of the readout.

Watch above, via CNN.