That's a good point. He could have been fragged or set up for a own goal. It probably wouldn't be difficult. Tell him it's safe and send him out after a bender?
You forgot the third, less plausible explanation: General was talking shit about Putin, did not realize that Vladimir Vladimirovich is always listening.
1847: Mexican–American War: On two occasions, Lieutenant Colonel Braxton Bragg (later a Confederate general) survived an attempt on his life when an artillery shell exploded under his bed.