A senior general commanding Russia’s forces in southern Ukraine is said to have been suddenly fired after he accused the Defense Ministry leadership of betraying their troops and not providing enough support. The information comes from CNN.
Ivan Popov was the commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army fighting in the Zaporizhia region. In a voice message published on Telegram on Wednesday (07/12/2023), he spoke of the lack of artillery reconnaissance stations and the “mass deaths and injuries” of Russian soldiers.
The message was posted by Andrey Gurulev, a member of the Russian Parliament and former deputy commander of the Southern Military District. In the audio recording, the Russian general said he had shared with the defense ministry “a number of other issues” the military in Ukraine was facing.
“I had no right to lie, so I laid out all the problematic issues that exist in the army today in terms of combat and support work,” he said. According to Popov, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu “signed the order” and “disposed of it.”
CORRECTION
13.July.2023 (20:06) Contrary to what was stated in the caption of the post above, Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the right side of the photo, while Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is on the left. The text has been corrected and updated.