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The Russian army is boiling. A day after the dismissal of Major General Ivan Popov (48), who had internally complained to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (68) and Chief of Staff Valeri Gerasimov (67) about the army’s warfare in Ukraine, anger erupted among the troops increases.
Shoigu and Gerasimov had ignored Popov’s complaints until he finally offered to speak to President Vladimir Putin, 70, himself because of the “difficult situation” at the front. As a result, the commander-in-chief of the 58th Army, stationed in southern Ukraine, was dismissed.
“I have drawn attention to the greatest tragedy of modern warfare – the lack of artillery detection and countermeasures and the many killed and wounded by enemy artillery,” Popov said in a voice message to Telegram.
“Terrorist act against army morale”
Now there is criticism of Popov’s dismissal. Andrei Gurulev, 55, Duma deputy from Putin’s United Russia party and former deputy head of the Russian Federation’s Southern Military District, called for “presidential intervention”. Gurulev demanded that Popov’s resignation be reversed.
“Unimaginable processes are taking place in the leadership of the army, which are difficult to reconcile with reason,” the politician raged on Telegram. He criticized the latest decisions of the General Staff, which would significantly weaken the army’s morale and combat power.
Colonel General Andrei Kartapolov (59), chairman of the Duma’s Defense Committee, also demanded that Popov’s resignation be reversed. According to Kartapolov, the problems mentioned by Popov “should be recognized and countered with measures”. War reporter Roman Sapankov considers Popov’s dismissal “a monstrous act of terrorism against the army’s morale”.
Did Popov attack Putin?
After his release, Popov said he was not alone in his fundamental criticism of the Russian military leadership. Popov: “Our commander-in-chief stabbed us in the back and treacherously decapitated the army at the most difficult hour.” That sounds like a direct message to Putin, who likes to call himself “commander-in-chief of the army”.
If the military decides to turn on the Russian General Staff, the defense minister and eventually the president, things could quickly get tricky for the trio of Gerasimov, Shoigu and Putin. Ukrainian activist Igor Sushko (37) believes: “The next armed uprising against Putin could very well be led by the Russian army itself”.
At the end of June, followers of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigoshin (62) temporarily occupied the city of Rostov-on-Don and advanced to the outskirts of Moscow. The mercenary chief accused Defense Minister Shoigu of corruption and incompetence. Ultimately nothing came of the uprising: after negotiations with the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko (68), Prigozhin’s troops returned.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
