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Russian Major General Ivan Popov claims to have been relieved of his command after informing the army command of the situation at the front. “The Ukrainian army could not break through our lines at the front, but our supreme leader struck us from behind, treacherously decapitating the army at the most inopportune moment,” Popov said in an audio message to his soldiers, returned public by the Ukrainian army. Russian MP Andrei Gurulyov. The MP is a former army commander.

Popov says he felt compelled to tell the army command the truth about the problems at the front out of respect for ordinary soldiers. In particular, he denounced the lack of means to neutralize Ukrainian artillery and the high loss rate of Ukrainian artillery fire. He suspects that the “fair and harsh” manner in which he criticized made him a danger to his superiors, and that is why they wanted to get rid of him.

Popov’s criticism is inseparable from the mutiny of Wagner’s mercenary army three weeks ago. Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, also strongly criticized the command of the Russian army. He claimed that the senior generals had no respect for the lives of Russians and had no idea what was going on at the front. Popov’s remarks are a sign that this kind of criticism also exists in the upper ranks of the Russian military.

Popov commanded the 58th Combined Arms Army, which is currently fighting in southern Ukraine. It’s unclear exactly when he voiced his criticism, but he said his order was taken away from him within a day.

Martin Alberts