Popov was in charge of the troops on the Zaporizhia front. He complained to the Russian Defense Ministry that the army could do nothing about the Ukrainian artillery weapons. “He felt he needed to speak up about this, and that wasn’t well received,” says defense analyst Patrick Bolder of the Center for Strategic Studies in The Hague.
With the alleged dismissal, Bolder sees a trend within the Russian military, which he believes is grappling with a leadership problem. “Thirteen or fifteen generals have already been arrested or released. So that leadership issue is a very big one, and I think it has everything to do with that.’
Defence
According to Bolder, Popov’s alleged sacking, and all recent sackings, have little effect on the war at the moment. This is because Russia is currently waging a defensive war. They’ve already been able to organize that defense for six months, so the loss of some leaders does little for the course of the war.
“Also, the Russians strongly adhere to the doctrine,” Bolder says. “That’s a prescribed course of action. If you do, leadership doesn’t really matter, because that’s what you need especially when you need creativity.” But in the long run, leadership is more important to getting motivation right with men. And that’s what seems to be missing.’
Follow developments in Ukraine and Russia here in this live blog