According to Telegram reports, Vladimir Putin has “purged” up to three other generals in order to weed out perceived enemies and traitors in his top echelons.
If confirmed, the total number of people fired, suspended, imprisoned or missing is estimated at up to 11.
It would also mean that Putin and his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, and his ally, General Valery Gerasimov – Russia’s senior soldier – feel they face a mass mutiny at high command as they attempt to fight Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
The Telegram broadcaster Verum Regnum commented on the abolition of Bloody Sunday with the words: “Right now the fate of the army is being decided and then the fate of the country.”
“If military officials manage to concentrate their power, crush all the seeds of initiative and professional honor in the troops and destroy the last heroes born.” [in the conflict against Ukraine]the inglorious end of the war is near.’
Air Force Commander Mikhail Teplinsky, left, pictured with Vladimir Putin during his spring 2023 visit to the currently occupied territory of the Luhansk region of Ukraine
Major General Alexander Kornev (pictured), 46, was reportedly dismissed from command of the 7th Airborne Assault Division
Another military-affiliated broadcaster, Two Majors, reported: “We think the current situation is extremely tense, especially for active troops.”
There is also a risk that at least part of the regular army will turn against Putin – as Wagner did with his armed insurrection last month.
Major General Alexander Kornev, 46, was reportedly dismissed from command of the 7th Airborne Assault Division.
Unconfirmed claims also suggest that troops are attempting to rescue 54-year-old Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinskiy and recorded a message threatening a paratrooper mutiny if he is arrested.
“We, the paratroopers, warn that we will not tolerate such actions in relation to General Teplinskiy,” the statement said.
“In the event of the slightest threat to his life and freedom, we will stand as a wall to protect the honor and dignity of our commander.”
“We are very determined. To the point where we retreat from our positions and rush to the rescue [commander].’
The unconfirmed message threatened mutiny: “Paratroopers do not abandon their own relatives.”
It’s only a few weeks since he was appointed deputy commander of the Russian war campaign alongside Gerasimov.
According to separate reports, 46-year-old Major General Ramil Ibatullin, commander of the 90th Armored Division, and two of his deputies were arrested on the pretext of financial irregularities.
Pictured: Major General Ramil Ibatullin, 46, commander of the 90th Armored Division
Vladimir Putin, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Major General Nikolai Gostev from left to right
Major General Vladimir Seliverstov pictured with Kremlin expert Vladimir Solovyov
Andrey Gurulev, Deputy of United Russia, Member of the State Duma Defense Committee, Reserve Lieutenant General
Major General Nikolay Gostev, commander of the 4th Air Force Army of Russia
An unnamed commander of the 27th Brigade will also be removed from his post, a report said.
A day earlier, it was announced that 49-year-old paratrooper commander Major General Vladimir Seliverstov, a close ally of Teplinskiy, had been deposed.
One of Russia’s youngest and most ruthless generals, Seliverstov commanded the 106th Airborne Division, which operated in the meat grinder around Bakhmut, where Ukraine is now advancing.
Even the support of Putin’s former bodyguard Alexei Dyumin, governor of the Tula region and possible anointed son as Kremlin successor, failed to save this general, reports say
The reason for his removal is unknown but could be his “uncompromising attitude”.
He is a commander unaccustomed to remaining silent when defending matters affecting him [troops]’ said a Telegram channel linked to the Wagner mercenary army.
Meanwhile, the notorious General Sergei “Armageddon” Surovikin, 56, has been incommunicado for three weeks since the revolt led by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.
It is understood that he is being interrogated for his siding with Prigozhin and is likely to be held in prison awaiting Putin’s decision on his fate. But the witch hunt continues.
Major General Ivan Popov, who led Russia’s 58th Army, disappeared shortly after being discharged last week.
His leaked voice message to the troops revealed that he blamed Putin’s high command for “treasonably and shamefully beheading the army at the most difficult and tense moment.”
His wife said Popov, 48, was “ordered” to an undisclosed location and “abruptly disappeared” after his harsh criticism of Putin’s war strategy was leaked, according to Telegram channel VChK-OGPU.
His ejection was publicly confirmed, but his alleged imprisonment was not.
According to critics such as war analyst Igor Strelkov, his absence is having a major impact on Russia’s performance at the front.
Another casualty was Major General Nikolay Gostev – commander of Russia’s 4th Air Force Army – who was removed, at least temporarily, from his post in the wake of Ukraine’s counter-offensive.
Major General Nikolay Gostev, commander of the 4th Air Force Army of Russia
Major General Vladimir Seliverstov
Major General Vladimir Seliverstov pictured at the Victory Day Parade in Moscow’s Red Square, 2019. Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Seliverstov
Vladimir Putin’s bodyguard Alexei Dyuman (tagged)
Alexei Djuman pictured next to Putin
Major General Nikolay Gostev, commander of the 4th Air Force Army of Russia
He is reportedly “resting” — a euphemism also used for Surovikin, Russia’s second-in-command military commander.
The timing is bizarre given that Gostev, 60, is responsible for protecting the Black Sea coast, including annexed Crimea and Zaporizhia, from Ukrainian missile attacks.
Last week, a British-supplied Storm Shadow missile killed a general Putin knew personally – Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, 51, in Berdyansk, an area now subject to intense long-range bombing.
Air Force Commander Lt. Col. Andrey Yudin, 61, was reportedly suspended after being interrogated following the June 24 Wagner armed mutiny.
The same applies to Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexseev, 62, deputy chief of military intelligence.
According to reports, both Yudin and Alexseev were suspended from duty and their freedom of movement restricted.
Former Colonel-General Mikhail Mitsintsev, also known as the Butcher of Mariupol, was deposed in May and joined Wagner. He was the first to pay with his job. His current whereabouts are unknown, there are indications that he was arrested.
Shoigu also targets a reservist, Lieutenant General Andrey Gurulev, a prominent war propagandist who has been accused of leaking Popov’s message, thus humiliating Shoigu and the chief of the armed forces, General Valery Gerasimov.
No action has been taken against him so far, but it could only be a matter of time.
“Shoigu continues to conduct ‘combat missions’ within the Ministry of Defense,” broadcaster VChK-OGPU reported.
Another missing general – the 11th believed to have been the target of the purge – is Shoigu’s close colleague and deputy defense minister – Colonel-General Yunus-bek Yevkurov, 59.
He was seen speaking to Prigozhin on the day of the armed mutiny in Rostov-on-Don. The deputy secretary of defense has not been seen since early July.