After supposedly being “sacked,” one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s generals was purportedly discovered dead in a river.
On Saturday, it was widely reported that Russian military commander Colonel-General Alexander Pavlovich Lapin had been relieved of a significant responsibility due to his country’s disastrous conflict in Ukraine.
However, on Saturday night, Channel 24 announced that the body of the top military commander had been discovered in the western Russian river known as the Moskva.
The Russian news station stated that rescuers and medical personnel were on the scene.
Official sources and the Russian media have not yet commented on the information.
Lapin took a three-week vacation, according to a source in the Ministry of Defense, local Russian media reported earlier on Saturday.
“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 Republic leader 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”.
Russia forced its beleaguered soldiers out of Lyman after being surrounded by ferocious Ukrainian forces, which caused Moscow great shame.
After Putin annexed Donetsk, where Lyman is located, and the other four regions of Ukraine, the fall of Lyman was a significant setback for Moscow.
The general, who was given the title of “Hero of Russia” by Putin during the summer after successfully leading forces that took the city of Lysychansk, had a fall from grace as a result of this.
In light of Russia’s disastrous campaign in Ukraine, there are concerns that Putin may start purging his inner circle as well as important military officers.
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.