U.S. officials said Maj. Gen. Yevgeny Ilyin called the situation in his native country "tragic" in what they interpreted as a sign of greater divisions in Russia.
By Mary Papenfuss
Mar. 25, 2022
In a rare burst of emotion, a “depressed” Ukrainian-born Russian major general called the military operation in his home country “tragic” and suddenly walked out of a meeting with U.S. officials, CNN reported Thursday.
The Americans indicated the emotional moment was likely a sign of a broader upheaval and poor morale in Russia over the military operation in Ukraine.
Maj. Gen. Yevgeny Ilyin, deputy chief of the main directorate of international cooperation, became upset in a rare meeting late last month with Americans at the Russian ministry of defense in Moscow, CNN reported.
A U.S. defense attaché inquired about Ilyin’s Ukrainian family roots just as the meeting was breaking up, according to a U.S. summary of the meeting obtained by CNN.
The typically “stoic” Ilyin became “flushed and agitated,” according to the U.S. account of the meeting. He said he was born in Dnipropetrovsk and then moved with his family to Donetsk, where he went to school. Both cities are in Ukraine.
He then called the situation in Ukraine “tragic and I am very depressed over it” — then exited the room without shaking anyone’s hand, according to the account, CNN reported.
What specifically Ilyin was reacting to, as well as the circumstances of the meeting and other details, could not immediately be determined, according to CNN.
“At the very least,” noted the American account, “it is clear that morale problems among Russian forces are not limited to front-line troops,” the summary concluded.
Friday, 25 March 2022
The Russian government is reportedly beside itself after the former chairman and CEO of Rusnano, Anatoly Chubais, a champion of privatization in the post-Soviet era, fled the country despite no Western sanctions, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Chubais also resigned from his position as Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for sustainable development, according to the outlet. He was last seen in Istanbul, a site quickly becoming a hotspot for fleeing oligarchs after Turkey refused to join EU sanctions.
Russian political analyst Ilya Grashchenkov told the Moscow Gazette on Friday that the reason for Chubais' departure was probably the result of a multitude of factors.
Grashchenkov said the oligarch's role as the special envoy for sustainable development "was highly connected to the relations of Western elites." After the total economic war on Russia began, Chubais' position became a liability for both parties, he theorized.
"Now is the time for Chubais to leave; if he stays, he will be part of the current system in the eyes of the West and the opposition," Grashchenkov said. "Chubais openly opposes the Kremlin. He is an open opponent of the special operation [in Ukraine] and Putin's politicians — plus, he can conduct some political activities in the West."
Others see the departure as almost entirely politically motivated, signaling Chubais may be in danger of Kremlin retaliation.
Andrei Kolesnikov, a political scientist at the Carnegie Moscow Center, compared the Russian elite to a submarine during an appearance on a Russian syndicated broadcast on Wednesday.
"The Russian elites are now a submarine from which it is terrifying to step out." He said. "It is very difficult to emerge.
"For rich people, bound by a large amount of information that is inaccessible to us, it is almost impossible to leave this submarine."
Kolesnikov compared Chubais' exit to former Russian adviser to the World Bank Boris Lvin earlier this month
"There was also a man who left the World Bank staff — Boris Lvin, a man of liberal and libertarian convictions," Kolesnikov said. "All these people are economists and liberals, such a combination of circumstances. All the rest sit in their seats and respect their leader.
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