Russian top general sacked for questioning defence ministry’s tactics in southern Ukraine

A senior Russian military general operating in southern Ukraine was reportedly fired for questioning the defence ministry’s tactics. Major General Ivan Popovhad accused the military top brass of “betraying” the troops on the battlefield.

He was the commander of the 58th Army that has been fighting in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

In a voice message on Telegram app, Maj Gen Popov said he was relieved of his duty because he questioned the “lack of counter-battery combat, the absence of artillery reconnaissance stations and the mass deaths and injuries of our brothers from enemy artillery.”

"It was necessary either to keep quiet and be a coward or to say it the way it is," he said, according to BBC.

"I had no right to lie in the name of you, in the name of my fallen comrades in arms, so I outlined all the problems which exist."

'Sergei Shoigu got rid of me'

According to CNN, the voice message was shared by a member of the Russian Parliament and former deputy commander of the Southern Military District, Andrey Gurulev.

“I also raised a number of other problems and expressed it all at the highest level frankly and extremely harshly,” Popov was quoted as saying in the message.

He claimed that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu “got rid of me,”, as he accused the top Kremlin official of treason.

“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.

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The 58th Combined Arms Army has been fighting the war in the occupied Berdyansk city.

Cracks in Russian defences?

According to reports, their basethere at the Dune hotel was hit by a missile attack early Tuesday that killed another Russian general.

A Russian military blogger, Voyenniy Osvedomitel, on Tuesday, revealed that the deputy commander of the Southern Military District, Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov, was killed due to the strike by British Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

In his concluding message, Popov said, “Good night, my beloved gladiators, beloved relatives, one family. I had to collect my thoughts, a lot of things happened in the last two days.

“I am always available to you. It is an honour for me to stand with you in the same ranks.”

Zaporizhzhia and the eastern Donetsk region have witnessed renewed Ukraine attacks in the wake of its counteroffensive, which was launched over a month ago.

However, it has not achieved the desired result due to strong pushback from Russian defensive lines.

On Wednesday, another Russian MP saidformer Russian commander Gen Sergei Surovikin,who has not been seen in public since the Wagner mutiny, was "resting".

(With inputs from agencies)

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