Putin to send key critic accused of fraud to fight on the frontlines
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Vladimir Putin could send an ousted military critic, detained on large scale fraud charges, to fight on the frontlines against Ukraine. Major General Ivan Popov may find himself fighting with rank-and-file soldiers and North Korean troops, in a bid to drive Ukraine from Kursk, despite still being on trial.
![[Popular Russian Major-General Ivan Popov, 49, known to his men as Spartacus, is poised to be released from custody on 'bogus' corruption charges, and sent to the war.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234752043-8174.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Known to his men as ‘General Spartacus’, he made a name for himself seeing off a Ukrainian counteroffensive in Zaporizhzhia in June 2023. But despite knocking back the much-anticipated attack, which fell short of the sweeping gains Ukraine made in the previous year’s Kharkiv offensive, Popov was out of a job by July.
![[A macabre image is believed to include dead North Koreans killed fighting for Russia in Kursk region.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233425941-a8d3.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
He believes he was dismissed as commander of the 58th Army because he criticised army chief General Valery Gerasimov over the high casualty rate and lack of military support experienced by his troops. Popov had said: ‘The Ukrainian army could not break through our ranks at the front but our senior chief hit us from the rear, viciously beheading the army at the most difficult and intense moment.’.
![[TOPSHOT - Medics help a local resident in a field hospital at an undisclosed location in the Kursk region on August 11, 2024. Ukraine controlled at least 800 square kilometres (308 square miles) of Russian territory in the Kursk region as of August 12, 2024, according to an AFP analysis of data provided by the Institute for the Study of War. Kyiv launched a surprise offensive into Russia's western Kursk region on August 6, capturing over two dozen settlements in the most significant cross-border attack on Russian soil since World War II. (Photo by Anatoliy Zhdanov / Kommersant Photo / AFP) / Russia OUT (Photo by ANATOLIY ZHDANOV/Kommersant Photo/AFP via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/SEI_217334008-e997.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
His fall from grace wasn’t over, however. Having been sent to Syria, Popov was then arrested in May 2024 on suspicion of stealing £940,000 worth of supplies intended for building frontline fortifications. Authorities have depicted him as a gambling addict who forged fake documents to embezzle funds. Popov denies the charges.
