The Daily Mail spoke with General Ben Hodges, the former commander of US forces in Europe, on Putin’s meeting with Kim Jong Un to plead for ammunition to aid him in his war in Ukraine.

The general suggested this was high humiliation for Putin, having to travel to the far end of Russia just to plead for wartime ammunition from Un.

Here’s more from Daily Mail:

Vladimir Putin has been left ‘humiliated’ after he had to travel ‘to the far end of Russia’ to meet North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and ‘plead for ammunition’, a retired US General has said.

Ben Hodges, former commander of US forces in Europe, said the fact that Putin is having to plead with Kim for ageing ammunition and rockets to help with his grinding war in Ukraine is a ‘clear sign of his isolation and desperation’.

A ‘desperate’ Putin greeted Kim at Russia’s modern space rocket launch site today with an enthusiastic handshake that lasted 40 seconds in a rare summit that the US warns could see North Korea supply Moscow with much needed artillery shells and antitank missiles to use in Ukraine.

‘This is a humiliation for Putin and his regime. The Russian defence industry is in tatters thanks to sanctions and years of corruption,’ General Hodges told MailOnline.

‘Going to the far end of Russia to meet with Kim Jong Un and plead for ammunition is a clear statement of Russia’s isolation and desperation.’

North Korea is believed to have tens of millions of aging artillery shells and rockets that would have compatibility with Russia’s Soviet-era designs, as well as a history of producing such ammunition.

It won’t lead to a Russian victory…

General Hodges said even if North Korea does supply Russia with its stockpiles of ageing ammunition and rockets for Soviet-era weapons, it wouldn’t lead to a Russian victory.

‘Depending on what North Korea actually agrees to provide, this might provide Russia the means to extend its efforts for a few more months,’ General Hodges said.

‘This means that thousands more Russian soldiers will die for no reason other than Putin’s personal ambitions.

I think the big question is what Putin is giving Un in return for the ammunition. Obviously money would be part of the deal but given how desperate Putin is, he’s liable to share nuclear secrets with Un in order to get what he wants.