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Shop NowCNN is reporting that a senior Russian general who was in command of forces that occupied southern Ukraine has been dismissed from his post. His sudden firing comes after he accused Moscow’s Defense Ministry leadership of betraying his troops by not providing sufficient support.
Ivan Popov is the general in question who was the commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army. This unit has been engaged in heavy fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine. According to the CNN article, Popov is one of the most senior officers to have taken part in the Russian campaign in Ukraine.
Russian major general, commander of the 58th army of the Russian Federation, Ivan Popov, nicknamed Spartak, cries that after reporting the situation to Gerasimov, he was fired from his job, because he named the true number of huge losses of Russian troops at the front. pic.twitter.com/x33b7Mw7es
— Devana 🇺🇦 (@DevanaUkraine) July 13, 2023
Popov claims he raised questions about “the lack of counter-battery combat, the absence of artillery reconnaissance stations, and the mass deaths and injuries of our brothers from enemy artillery,” in a voice note published on the Telegram messaging app.
According to CNN, the recorded message was posted by Andrey Gurulev, a member of the Russian Parliament and former deputy commander of the Southern Military District.
Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov, a Russian commander in Ukraine, said he was removed after he “outlined all the problems existing in the army in terms of combat work and support.” https://t.co/T4wF4nHlJP
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 13, 2023
“I also raised a number of other problems and expressed it all at the highest level frankly and extremely harshly,” Popov said in the recorded message. “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 accused Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of treason. He claimed that the top Kremlin official “signed the order and got rid of me.”
Russia’s commander of the 58th Army, Major General Ivan Popov, announced on Wednesday evening that he had been removed from his post
Dimitri Elovskii joins to discuss the unprecedented move and the reasoning behind Popov's dismissal #i24NEWSDesk | @albertlewitinn pic.twitter.com/DiynC5Eo9k
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) July 13, 2023
“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 said in the published recording.
The 58th Combined Arms Army has been headquartered in the occupied city of Berdyansk. Both Ukrainian and Russian sources have reported that its base at the Dune hotel was hit by a missile attack early Tuesday. Another Russian general was killed in the attack.
