Top general’s dismissal reveals new crack in Russian military leadership

A Russian general in charge of forces fighting in southern Ukraine has been relieved of his duties after speaking out about the problems faced by his troops in a move that reflected new fissures in the Russian military command following a brief rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Major General Ivan Popov, the commander of the 58th Army fighting in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, which is a focal point in the Ukrainian counteroffensive, said in an audio statement to his troops released late on Wednesday that he was dismissed after a meeting with the top military brass.

Maj Gen Popov said the military leadership was angered by his frank talk about the challenges faced by his forces, particularly the shortage of radars tracking enemy artillery, which resulted in massive Russian casualties.

“The top officers apparently saw me as a source of threat and rapidly issued an order to get rid of me, which was signed by the defence minister in just one day,” he said.

“The Ukrainian military couldn’t penetrate our army’s defences, but the top commander hit us in the back, treacherously and cowardly beheading the army at this most difficult moment.”

Maj Gen Popov, who uses the call name Spartacus, addressed his troops as “my gladiators” in the audio message released by retired general Andrei Gurulev, who commanded the 58th Army in the past and currently serves as a legislator.

The 58th Army consists of several divisions and smaller units.

Maj Gen Popov, 48, who has risen from a platoon commander to lead a large group of forces, has encouraged his soldiers to come directly to him with any problems – an easygoing approach that contrasted sharply with a stiff formal style of command common for the Russian military.

Russian military bloggers say he is widely known for doing his best to avoid unnecessary losses – unlike many other commanders who were eager to sacrifice their soldiers to report successes.

“I faced a difficult situation with the top leadership when I had to either keep silent and act like a coward, saying what they wanted to hear, or call things by their names,” Maj Gen Popov said.

“I didn’t have the right to lie for the sake of you and our fallen comrades.”

Many military bloggers argued that Maj Gen Popov’s dismissal eroded troop morale at a time of relentless Ukrainian attacks.

One blogger, Vladislav Shurygin, said it has dealt a “terrible blow to the entire army”, while another, Roman Saponkov, described it as a “monstrous terror attack against the army’s morale”.

In a sign that many in Russian officialdom share Maj Gen Popov’s criticism of the top military brass, Andrei Turchak, the first deputy speaker of the upper house of parliament who heads the main Kremlin party United Russia, strongly backed the general, saying that “the Motherland can be proud of such commanders”.

The news about Maj Gen Popov’s dismissal came a day after another top officer leading Russian forces facing the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south, Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, was killed by a Ukrainian missile strike.

Mr Gurulev said that Lt Gen Tsokov died when the Ukrainian military struck the city of Berdyansk on Tuesday with UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

Russia’s Defence Ministry has not reported Lt Gen Tsokov’s death.

Russian military bloggers said that Maj Gen Popov’s remarks, in which he also spoke about the need to rotate his troops, who have been fighting to repel a Ukrainian counteroffensive since early June, angered general staff chief General Valery Gerasimov, who promptly ordered his dismissal.

Gen Gerasimov was shown meeting with military officers in a video released by the Defence Ministry on Monday, the first time he had been seen since last month’s abortive rebellion by Mr Prigozhin, who demanded his ousting.

Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political analyst, noted that Maj Gen Popov’s statement echoed criticism of the top brass by Mr Prigozhin.

However, he added that the general’s statement was not a rebellion, but instead a call for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s help.

“Such public disputes at the top of the Russian army isn’t a show of force,” he said.

During the revolt that lasted less than 24 hours, mercenaries from Mr Prigozhin’s Wagner Group quickly swept through the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and captured the military headquarters there without firing a shot before driving to within about 200 kilometres (125 miles) of Moscow.

Mr Prigozhin called his mercenaries back to their camps after striking a deal to end the rebellion in exchange for an amnesty for him and his mercenaries and permission to move to Belarus.

The rebellion represented the biggest threat to Mr Putin in his more than two decades in power and badly dented his authority, even though Mr Prigozhin said that the uprising was not aimed against the president but intended to force the ousting of Gen Gerasimov and defence minister Sergei Shoigu, whose handling of the action in Ukraine he has criticised.

On Monday, the Kremlin confirmed that Mr Prigozhin and 34 of his top officers met with Mr Putin on June 29, five days after the rebellion, a startling announcement that raised new questions about the terms of the deal with Wagner.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wagner’s commanders pledged loyalty to the president and said they were ready “to continue to fight for the Motherland”.

Mr Putin has said that Wagner troops had to choose whether to sign contracts with the Defence Ministry, move to Belarus or retire from service.

While details of the deal with Mr Prigozhin have remained murky, uncertainty has also surrounded the fate of General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, who had reportedly been detained for questioning about his ties to Mr Prigozhin.

The Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that mercenaries of the Wagner Group were completing the handover of their weapons to the Russian military, part of the Kremlin’s efforts to defuse the threat it posed.

Speaking in Helsinki on Thursday after a Nato summit, US President Joe Biden said he is not certain about what fate awaits Mr Prigozhin.

“I’m not even sure where he is,” Mr Biden said. “If I were he, I’d be careful what I ate, I’d be keeping an eye on my menu. But all kidding aside … I don’t know. I don’t think any of us know for certain what the future of Prigozhin is in Russia.”