A senior Russian general in charge of soldiers in occupied southern Ukraine claims he was unexpectedly fired after accusing Moscow's Defense Ministry leadership of abandoning his men by not giving enough assistance.
Unexpected Dismissal?
Heavy battles had been going on in the Zaporizhzhia area, and General Ivan Popov was in charge of the 58th Combined Arms Army. He is among the highest-ranking Russian military personnel to have served in the deadly invasion of Ukraine.
In a voice message posted on Telegram late Wednesday, July 12, Popov said he had questioned "the lack of counter-battery combat, the absence of artillery reconnaissance stations, and the mass deaths and injuries of our brothers from enemy artillery," as reported by CNN.
Russian lawmaker and ex-second in command of the military district's southern region Andrey Gurulev uploaded the clip on the messaging app.
"I had no right to lie, therefore, I outlined all the problematic issues that exist today in the army in terms of combat work and support," Popov added, as heard on the recording.
Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister, allegedly fired him and issued the order after accusing the senior Kremlin official of treason.
"As many commanders of divisional regiments said today, the servicemen of the armed forces of Ukraine could not break through our army from the front, [but] our senior commander hit us from the rear, treacherously and vilely decapitating the army at the most difficult and tense moment," Popov added.
Meanwhile, an official who supports the Kremlin has called the announcement of the voice note's publication a "political show."
According to First Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council and head of the parliamentary working group on Russia's military operation in Ukraine, Andrey Turchak, Popov's appeal was never meant for the public. It was only discussed in closed chat groups among 58th Army commanders and troops.
Military Instability
Analysts say it is uncommon for such a high-ranking person to be fired in the middle of a conflict.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington cited reports that Valery Gerasimov, a Russian army general, had been informed by Popov that the 58th Combined Army needed to be rotated out of combat due to long periods of fight and heavy casualties.
Aside from efforts to stop Ukrainian advances in western Zaporizhia, the 58th has been extensively engaged in protecting Russian strongholds against the Ukrainian army in the Orikhiv region.
Suppose the allegations of Popov's claims are accurate. In that case, these support ISW's earlier conclusions that Russian troops lack the operational reserves necessary to carry out personnel rotations in defense against Ukrainian counteroffensives and that Russian defensive lines may be vulnerable.