Yesterday, Thursday, CNN revealed details of what happened in a rare meeting between US and Russian military officials in Moscow, and how “moral problems in the ranks of the Russian forces are not limited to front-line forces” only.
The behavior of the Russian Major General Yevgeny Ilin
The network says it saw a presentation of the meeting from the viewpoint of the defense attaches who attended and their impressions of what they saw and heard.
She adds that the meeting, which took place at the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, is a rare example of Russian and American defense officials sitting face to face since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
What raised the US officials the most in the meeting was the behavior of Russian Major General Yevgeny Ellin, deputy head of the Department of International Military Cooperation at the Russian Defense Ministry, who has a proven track record of dealing with US officials, according to CNN.
Visible signs of stress
The presentation seen by the network described the meeting as tense, with clear signs of tension on the Russian side, and included a “revealing moment” from Russian General Yevgeny Allen.
As the meeting drew to a close, an American attache spontaneously asked about the Ellen family’s origins in Ukraine, and according to the presentation, American officials noted that the general’s notoriously quiet behavior “suddenly became agitated and turbulent.”
Elaine replied that he was born in Ukraine and went to school in the Donetsk region, after which he said that the situation in Ukraine “is tragic, and I am very depressed because of it.” Before leaving without shaking hands with anyone.
sudden behavior
The presentation stated that one of the US military attaches was shocked by this sudden behavior of the Russian general, and two US officials reported that they had never “witnessed such anger by their Russian counterparts in an official meeting.”
“The sparks in his eyes and his confused behavior made me goosebumps,” the show’s supplement wrote.
Possible sign of morale problems
“While it is not clear what exactly triggered Ellen’s reaction, US defense attaches who attended the meeting assessed his reaction as a possible indication of morale problems,” the network adds.
The presentation concluded that, “to say the least, it is clear that morale problems among Russian forces are not limited to front-line forces,” according to CNN.
It is unclear why or the circumstances of the meeting took place, and CNN does not know if there are additional documents describing the meeting.
The offer does not include the names of the American attaches to the meeting, and the network has not been able to establish their identities.
It says the Pentagon and the US State Department declined to comment, as did the Russian Defense Ministry.