Desperate Vladimir Putin brings Kremlin critic 'General Spartacus' out of exile to fight in Ukraine
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Desperate Vladimir Putin is set to bring his harshest Kremlin critic ‘General Spartacus’ out of exile to fight the war against Ukraine - despite slamming the dictator. Major General Ivan Popov, 49, a hero among ordinary Russian soldiers and former head of the 58th army, is currently in detention on large scale fraud charges. He is widely seen as having been punished for his outspoken criticisms of Putin’s high command including overall army chief General Valery Gerasimov.
Now reports suggest that Putin needs Popov’s military talents on the battlefield where the Russian dictator has failed to dislodge the Ukrainian army from occupying part of his Kursk region. Putin is desperate to gain ground ahead of any peace talks amid suggestions he wants the war over by the time Russia marks the 80th anniversary of victory in the Second World War on 9 May. News outlet Mash reported that the defence ministry has already consented to Popov being released from detention and sent to fight.
Popov has always denied the charges, and accused the authorities of using forged documents to slur him for embezzlement, while faking a claim that he was gambling addict. His legal problems began after he said in 2023: “Our army could not be destroyed by the Ukrainian Army.
“Our own senior commander hit us from the rear. Treacherously and vilely decapitating the army at the most difficult and tense moment.”. He told his rank and file soldiers: “I was honest with you from the start, I was always open with you, cutting the distance between soldier and general.
