 "Deputy Russian military chief of staff jailed for bribe-taking")
In a series of bribery arrests of high-ranking military officials, Russia has arrested a deputy chief of the military general staff on charges of large-scale bribery, Russian news reports said Thursday.
The arrest of Lt. Gen. Vadim Shamarin followed the arrest this week of Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov, a former top commander in Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, also on bribery charges.
In April, Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was arrested for bribery. Ivanov was a close associate of Sergei Shoigu, whom President Vladimir Putin dismissed as defense minister soon after Putin’s inauguration to a new term in May.
Lt. Gen. Yury Kuznetsov, head of the Russian defence ministry’s personnel directorate, was arrested on bribery charges just two days after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was replaced. Kuznetsov is also the head of the ministry’s main communications directorate. He is currently being held in custody for two months, as reported by Russian news agencies, though further details of the case remain undisclosed.
Shoigu had faced widespread criticism for Russia’s failure to capture Kyiv early in the Ukraine conflict. He was accused of incompetence and corruption by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group mercenaries, who launched a mutiny in June 2023 demanding Shoigu’s and military chief of staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov’s dismissal.
Following Prigozhin’s failed uprising, there have been significant changes within the Russian military command. Less than a month after the mutiny, Gen. Ivan Popov was dismissed as commander of the 58th Army. Popov had reportedly complained to Shoigu about inadequate equipment leading to high Russian casualties, calling his dismissal a “treacherous” act against Russian forces in Ukraine.
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View AllHis forces were engaged in fierce fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region, one of the most congested areas in the conflict. Popov’s removal came a day after the 58th Army’s command post in Berdyansk was struck by a Ukrainian attack, resulting in the death of a high-ranking general.
These events illustrate the ongoing turmoil and power struggles within the Russian military leadership amidst the prolonged and challenging conflict in Ukraine.
With inputs from agencies.
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