Former US Defense Secretary James Mattis criticized Russia's war in Ukraine, calling it 'immoral' and 'operationally stupid,' while speaking at the Seoul Forum 2022. He also spoke of previous US efforts to try and bring Russia into the 'community of nations,' but said that was not possible with Vladimir Putin as leader. Mattis called Russia's military performance 'pathetic' and decried 'the immoral, the tactically incompetent, operationally stupid and strategically foolish effort' of its campaign in Ukraine.