According to the Russian official TASS agency, citing an anonymous source, the former commander of the 58th Army, Major General Ivan Popov, was "arrested on suspicion of fraud", quoted by News.bg.
According to the source, the arrest has already been authorized by the 235th Garrison Court in Moscow. This was not officially announced; Russian authorities usually first report the "detention" of the suspects, and then the courts approve (almost never deny) detention, usually for 60 days, which are then extended for the same length of time.
It is claimed that Popov is suspected of fraud on a particularly large scale.
General Popov commanded the 58th Army, which in the summer of 2023 operated in the Zaporozhian direction and repelled the advance of the Ukrainian armed forces. In July, it became known about his removal from command. This was preceded by the publication of Popov's appeal, in which he spoke about the problems of the army, which, according to him, the Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov did not even want to hear.
Recently, the Russian Ministry of Defense has been rocked by corruption scandals - first a deputy minister was detained and charged with corruption on a particularly large scale, and then other high-ranking officials followed his fate.
During the appointment of the new Russian government, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, considered a close friend of President Vladimir Putin, dropped out of it. This change was talked about for a long time, and Shoigu himself was accused of lacking military experience and special education. In his place was appointed the economist Andrey Belousov - former First Deputy Prime Minister of the country.