ONE of Vladimir Putin’s top generals has reportedly been sacked amid wild speculation over his fate.
Colonel-General Alexander Pavlovich Lapin was removed from his post commanding Russian forces in eastern Ukraine after a humiliating retreat, according to widespread reports.
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He had been personally singled out for blame by two of Putin’s key allies – who accused him of “surrendering” the strategic city of Lyman.
Hours after his sacking, Ukrainian news site Channel 24 reported Lapin’s body had been found in the Moskva River, which runs through western Russia. The outlet then retracted the “false” report.
Earlier on Saturday, Russian local media quoted a source in the Ministry of Defence as saying that Lapin had taken a three-week holiday.
“At the beginning of next week, he will fly to the hospital, heal, then rest for another week and return to duty,” the source reportedly said.
Lapin’s removal came after he was heavily criticised by Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov twice in the past month over failures in Ukraine.
At the beginning of October he slammed the “talentless” general after Russian troops retreated from the eastern city of Lyman in the Donetsk region.
At the end of the month, Kadyrov accused Lapin of allowing Ukrainian forces to break through one part of the front in what he described as a “surrender”.
Lapin was also slammed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the billionaire boss of the Wagner Group mercenaries who is known as “Putin’s chef”.
After being encircled by fierce Ukrainian forces, Russia pulled its struggling soldiers out of Lyman in a huge embarrassment for Moscow.
It was a major setback Moscow after Putin declared four regions in Ukraine as part of Russia – including Donetsk, where Lyman is located.
This represented a fall from grace for the general, who was awarded the title of “Hero of Russia” by Putin over the summer after he successfully led troops that captured the city of Lysychansk.
This comes amid fears Putin may be purging his inner circle, as well as key military personnel, over Russia’s disastrous campaign in Ukraine.
Russia is using “mobilised reservists” in its battle on the Dnipro River due to “extremely low” manpower, British intelligence suggested.
Putin is reportedly sending these “poorly trained” soldiers to their deaths, as he desperately attempts to hold onto land in the region.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed during a meeting with Putin that 82,000 conscripts have now been sent to Ukraine in a desperate attempt to bolster Russian troops.
Guardian Online reports that he confirmed the Russian Army was no longer recruiting civilians, which the Russian President admitted was “inevitable”.
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