Alexander Lapin, one of the most important Russian commanders in Ukraine to date, has apparently lost his post. Lapin fell victim to political intrigues. The case illustrates the growing power of hardliners who are calling for all-out war.
The Russian Colonel-General Alexander Lapin, here in parade uniform at a military celebration before the war, has quickly fallen from “hero” to scapegoat.
Against the background of military setbacks in Ukraine, another tremor occurred in the Russian generals over the weekend. This time it hit an officer who only recently enjoyed the full favor of the Kremlin: Colonel-General Alexander Lapin. In July, President Putin awarded the commander of the Central Military District and head of the “Centre” and “West” groups involved in the invasion with the country’s highest honorary title, the “Hero of Russia” order. By the fall, however, Lapin was increasingly being labeled a failure by nationalist army critics.
Kadyrov and Prigozhin strike again
The campaign against Lapin was led by Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov and the head of the Wagner paramilitary combat group, Yevgeny Prigozhin. The two are not integrated into the armed forces hierarchy, but have growing influence thanks to their private armies. They were already among the driving forces behind the annexation of four Ukrainian provinces and the appointment of General Sergei Surovikin as the war zone’s new commander-in-chief.
On Thursday, the Kadyrov-Prigozhin tandem renewed their criticism of Lapin, with the two ultimately targeting the military leadership in Moscow. Kadyrov accused the general of staying far from the front lines and of having recently caused a breakthrough by the Ukrainian opponents. The Chechen also railed that Lapin had wrongly received his order in the summer and that he was being protected from above. Pro-Lapin military correspondents launched a counter-campaign, singing the general’s praises and publishing pictures of him at the front. But the Kremlin immediately gave in, probably because they thought they could get rid of such a tiresome point of contention.
There is no official confirmation of Lapin’s dismissal. But consistent reports from those close to the general and those of his critics leave little doubt that he has lost his command. The only thing that remains unclear is whether he was only relieved of his position in the Ukraine war or whether he also had to give up the leadership of his military district, which was mainly located in Siberia. Some sources claim that Lapin only went on vacation. But the fact that neither the Kremlin nor the general staff put in a good word for him or dismissed the news on Sunday points to Lapin’s ouster.
Putin probably hopes to appease the two up-and-coming warlords Kadyrov and Prigozhin in this way. The rumor about Lapin’s temporary successor would fit in with this. It is said to be Lieutenant General Andrei Mordvichov, an officer close to Kadyrov. Up to now, Mordvichov commanded the 8th Army stationed in southern Russia. A video from March shows him and the Chechen ruler in a friendly embrace. On this occasion, Kadyrov also praised the general as the “best commander”. In Kyiv one sees this differently; Ukrainian authorities consider Mordvichov a war criminal for his role in destroying and capturing the port city of Mariupol.
Failed repeatedly throughout the war
The intrigues in Moscow are hardly over. The radical forces within the “Party of War” will probably not rest until Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu or Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov resign. This scramble is about power, not military qualities.
Lapin wasn’t a particularly incompetent military leader, but he had undoubtedly made himself vulnerable. In March his troops failed miserably on the axis of attack via Chernihiv to Kyiv, and in May crass tactical mistakes at a river crossing in the Donbass led to spectacular losses. Although Lapin celebrated a victory in the Battle of Lisichansk in July, in September he was blamed for the loss of the strategically important small town of Liman. In addition, there was also the accusation that he was failing to deploy the newly mobilized reservists on his front section in northern Donbass.
Lapin’s downfall is notable in that the last of the six main commanders directly involved in the invasion has now stumbled. The chiefs of the southern, eastern and western military districts, as well as the commanders of the airborne troops and those of the Black Sea Fleet, had already lost their posts in the spring and summer. Colonel-General Lapin held out the longest, but in the end the Kremlin needed him as a scapegoat too.
This is another expression of how disastrously bad the war is going for Moscow. The Russian generals hardly ever fail because of their own incompetence – their downfall is that they are supposed to achieve strategic war goals that exceed the real possibilities of the Russian armed forces.