Russian Major General Ivan Popov, the former commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army suspected of large-scale fraud, signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry to go fight in Ukraine, pro-state outlet Kommersant reported on April 9.
Popov is expected to lead one of the Storm-Z detachments, a front-line assault group largely composed of convicts and known for high casualty rates, Kommerstant's source in security services claimed.
The officer's lawyer and the Defense Ministry appealed to the military court overseeing the case to suspend the proceedings and release Popov from detention to go fight in Ukraine, the Russian media reported.
Popov was arrested in May 2024 on suspicions he took part in the theft of 1,700 metric tons of metal intended for building fortifications in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The general was dismissed from his command in 2023 after he reportedly bypassed the command of Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and attempted to directly appeal to the Kremlin over poor battlefield conditions.
In March, Popov sent an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that he had always been a "loyal soldier" and asking for permission to return to military service.
Chris York
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