Russian General's Dismissal Reveals 'New Level of Concern' on Military: ISW
The firing of one of Russia's key commanders in the Ukraine war has sparked a "new level of concern" about the integrity of the Russian military, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Washington, D.C.-based think tank said in a report published on Friday night that the recent firing of Russian Army Major General Ivan Popov "continues to generate pronounced ire against the Russian military command and the Russian civilian leadership."
Popov, who used the military call sign "Spartacus" was in command of Russia's 58th Combined Arms Army in southern Ukraine, said earlier this week that he was removed from his post after criticizing the Russian Ministry of Defense for not providing enough support to his troops.
The apparent firing came only weeks after Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group mercenary organization, launched an aborted mutiny attempt against the Russian military. ISW said that the latest development had caused further turmoil that could last for "the foreseeable future."
Russian President Vladimir Putin is pictured in Moscow on June 27, 2023. The Institute for the Study of War said on Friday that the firing of top Russian General Ivan Popov had sparked a "new level of concern." SERGEI GUNEYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP
"Popov's dismissal has exposed a new level of concern about factional dynamics and degraded command structures in the Russian military following Prigozhin's June 24 rebellion, and will likely serve as a point of neuralgia in the Russian information space for the foreseeable future," the ISW report says.
The report goes on to say that pro-Russia military bloggers have argued that the firing "shows that the Russian military command is detrimentally suppressing the opinions of commanders about the situation at the front and that Russian command has forgotten that their main priority is preserving their personnel."
Russian war correspondent Anastasia Kashevarova also reportedly said that Popov's dismissal had exposed problems with both military and civilian leadership in Moscow, accusing leaders of "routinely suppressing and ignoring reports from the frontline" in Ukraine and "failing to properly mobilize Russia's defense industrial base."
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment via email on Friday.
Just before launching his failed rebellion last month, Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of "deceiving" Russian society about the Ukraine war, arguing that military leadership had attempted to "spin the story" on "aggression from the Ukrainian side" despite the war having begun for "a completely different reason."
Popov also harshly criticized the Russian military in a voice message shared to Telegram on Wednesday, shortly after his purported dismissal. He accused Moscow of committing the "main tragedy" of the war by allowing its own ill-equipped troops to die on the front lines.
According to translations by Russian news outlet Meduza and the independent media project WarTranslated, Popov said that Russian military leadership was responsible for "the lack of counter-battery combat, the absence of artillery reconnaissance stations and the mass deaths and injuries of our brothers from enemy artillery."
"The Ukrainian Army could not break through our ranks at the front," he added. "But our senior chief hit us from the rear, viciously beheading the army at the most difficult and intense moment."
Source: Newsweek
