Popov criticized military leadership
Russian ex-army chief arrested on fraud charges
May 21, 2024, 6:49 p.m
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Russian General Popov lost his post last summer because of his criticism of the top military leadership. Now the authorities are investigating the 49-year-old for fraud. The officer’s lawyer denies the accusations.
Russian Major General Ivan Popov, who was fired because of his criticism of the military operation in Ukraine, has been arrested on suspicion of fraud, according to media reports. A military court ordered Popov to be held in pre-trial detention for two months, the state news agency RIA Novosti reported. He was arrested on Friday on suspicion of “large-scale fraud,” the state news agency Tass quoted the Moscow court as saying. According to the relevant article of the criminal code, Popov faces ten years in prison.
According to the pro-Russian military blog Dwa Majora, Popov is accused of misusing and selling aid for his army worth 100 million rubles, the equivalent of around one million euros. Popov’s lawyer rejected the allegations. The officer’s assets are not even close to the sums mentioned in the blogs, said the lawyer. The defense is calling for an acquittal.
The 49-year-old Popov was commander of the Russian 58th Army until the summer of 2023. The large association was significantly involved in the occupation of the port city of Mariupol and was in the Zaporizhia region last summer when Ukraine launched its counteroffensive there. After high losses, Popov criticized Moscow’s conduct of the war and, among other things, called for a rotation of combat units. Chief of the General Staff Vladimir Gerasimov is said to have described the commander, who was valued by his subordinates, as a “panicker”.
In an audio message that reached wide circles, Popov spoke of “mass deaths and injuries” among Russian soldiers. He criticized the Russian army for lacking adequate weapons systems and intelligence capabilities and said he was fired after accusing top commanders of betraying soldiers.