By Geanous
Russia sacked two generals in the past week, as Moscow’s Ministry of Defense reportedly continues to purge its top officers, pointing to a growing disarray in the military leadership following the aborted rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group.
Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu canned Maj. Gen. Vladimir Seliverstov, commander of the Tula Airborne Division, this week, according to Belarusian news outlet Charter97.
The governor of the Tula region, which borders Moscow, Alexei Dyumin, tried to stand up for Seliverstov, who was involved in the battles in Bakhmut, but to no avail, according to the Russian publication VChK-OGPU.
Seliverstov’s reported firing comes days after Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov was sacked following a recorded tirade he went on against the Russian government, in which he raised questions about high casualty rates and lack of artillery support, echoing the themes of some of the tirades posted by Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in the weeks leading up to last month’s short-lived mutiny.
Popov, 48, claimed in a voice recording published by Russian Politician Andrew Gurulyov that he was fired as head of the 58th Combined Arms Army in retaliation for his criticism.
“I had no right to lie in the name of you, in the name of my fallen comrades in arms, so I outlined all the problems which exist,” he said in the recording.
“The Ukrainian army could not break through our ranks at the front but our senior chief hit us from the rear, viciously beheading the army at the most difficult and intense moment,” he continued.
Popov also said it was Shoigu who approved his dismissal.
“The senior chiefs apparently sensed some kind of danger from me and quickly concocted an order from the defense minister in just one day and got rid of me,” he said.
Popov’s firing also points to a growing resentment Russian officers have against Moscow’s top brass, according to the UK Ministry of Defense.
“Popov’s comments draw attention to serious disaffection many officers likely harbor towards the senior military leadership,” the agency said in an intelligence update Saturday.
“Direct criticism from subordinates is likely to become an increasing problem for Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff General Valery Gerasimov,” the agency added.
The high-level griping came as Russia lost two more generals to the war in the past week, bringing the total killed in battle to 10.
The casualties among Russian commanders include Lt. Gen Oleg Tsokov who died on July 11 in a strike on a hotel housing military commanders in Berdyansk on Ukraine’s occupied southern coast, the BBC reported.
Tsokov was deputy commander of Russia’s southern military district and the state-run Rossiya-1 media channel reported that he was killed by a Storm Shadow missile that had been given to Ukraine by the UK.
The next day, Maj. Gen. Sergey Goryachev, chief of staff of Russia’s 35th Army, was killed by a Ukrainian missile strike on the Zaporizhzhia front, where Ukrainian forces have been gaining ground amid their counteroffensive.
