Major General Ivan Ivanovich Popov, former Commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army has been arrested for fraud according to Russian state-owned media outlet, TASS.
Major General Popov, once darling of the Russian Defense Ministry was relieved of command of the 58th Combined Arms Army on July 11th, 2023, only one month after announcing that his forces had successfully blunted the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Zaporizhya area of operations.
On July 12th, 2023, Russian State Duma deputy Andrey Gurulyov published a message from Popov explaining that he was relieved because he was overly critical of Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov. Popov had lobbied to have his front-line units rotated with fresh units due to constant fighting coupled with lack of proper supplies. He accused Gerasimov and Shoigu of betraying Russian soldiers on the battlefield by failing to provide sufficient support and raised questions about “the lack of counter-battery fire, the absence of artillery radars and the mass deaths and injuries of our brothers from enemy artillery.
