By Le Figaro with Portal
Posted 3 hours ago, updated 18 minutes ago
“data-script=”https://static.lefigaro.fr/widget-video/short-ttl/video/index.js” >
The general reportedly criticized military leaders for not providing adequate support to Russian soldiers deployed to Ukraine.
Russian General Popov announces he has been relieved of his post as commander of the 58th Army after briefing the military hierarchy on the dire situation on the front lines in Ukraine, where he says Russian soldiers have been stabbed to death by default by senior army officers .
Major General Ivan Popov, who commanded the 58th Combined Army, said in a voicemail from a Russian parliamentarian that he was removed from his post after telling senior officials the truth about the situation at the front. “The Ukrainian army could not break through our ranks at the front, but our superior leader hit us from behind and brutally beheaded the army at the most difficult and intense moment.”
Also read: At the NATO summit, Erdogan makes promises to the westerners and hits back at Putin
public criticism
The Department of Defense did not immediately comment and Portal was unable to verify the authenticity of the voicemail. It is not known exactly when the message was recorded. The Department of Defense said nothing about his dismissal. Such public criticism of Russian military leadership by a veteran general, less than three weeks after Wagner’s mutiny, shows the extent of discontent within the Russian military fighting the world’s biggest war in Europe since World War II.
A Telegram channel linked to Wagner’s mercenaries said Popov discussed with Gerasimov, the army chief of staff, the need to move exhausted troops from the front lines. “Senior leaders apparently sensed that I posed a threat and quickly concocted an order from the Minister of Defense to get rid of me in a single day,” Ivan Popov said.