“We have a saying in America — we say that nations with allies thrive, nations without allies wither, and we’re seeing Russia wither before our eyes right now,” Mattis said at the Seoul Forum 2022 in South Korea, according to CNN. . Mattis, a former four-star Marine general who led the Pentagon during the first two years of the Trump administration, condemned Russia’s “immoral, tactically incompetent, operationally stupid and strategically stupid effort” to invade Ukraine, CNN reported. Asked during the forum what military lessons could be learned from Russia’s more than four-month war with Ukraine, Mattis replied: “One is not to have incompetent generals in charge of your operations,” according to news agency. More than a dozen Russian generals have been killed in the fighting so far, according to officials from Ukraine and other countries. Putin launched his country’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, with Russian troops encircling and shelling towns and cities across the country. Russian forces turned their focus to eastern Ukraine after the military failed to quickly capture the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other major cities early in the invasion. Thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since the start of the war. Last month, a former US general compared Russia’s war in Ukraine to a “heavyweight boxing match” and predicted a “knockout blow” is on the horizon. “In 2 months of combat, there has yet to be a knockout blow. It will come as RU forces become more depleted,” said retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who served as commander of US forces in Europe. a tweet.
