Disgraced Russian General asks Putin to let him serve in special militry operation zone

General of the Russian Army Ivan Popov is implicated in the theft of over 1,700 tons of rolled metal worth 105 million rubles, intended for the construction of defensive structures in the Zaporizhzhia region. In March, he wrote an open letter to Putin.

Photo: multimedia.miniborony.rf by Evgeniy Polovodov, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Military men

Former commander of the 58th Army, Major General Ivan Popov, asked the Tambov Garrison Military Court to suspend proceedings in his case, citing a positive decision by the Russian Ministry of Defense to sign a contract with him for participation in the military operation, his lawyer Sergey Buinovsky said.

"Together with the Ministry of Defense, we filed a motion to suspend the case and change the measure of restraint, in connection with the positive decision to assign Ivan Ivanovich to the Special Military Operation (SMO),” Buinovsky said.

According to him, Major General Popov expressed gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his support and the trust shown.

Buinovsky noted that he and his client asked the Tambov Garrison Military Court to suspend the case because Popov had signed a contract with the Defense Ministry to participate in the SMO. 

Popov will not go to the front as a regular assault trooper – he will serve as a commander of one of Storm Z units, The Kommersant said with reference to its source.

These units are formed from individuals under investigation or convicted prisoners. Criminal prosecution against such individuals is suspended and can later be terminated for their service.

Half of Russian military would serve with Popov

Military volunteer Alexey Zhirov, commenting on the possibility of General Popov serving in an assault unit, said that "half the Russian military would want to sign up in that unit with Popov.”

Popov was detained in the spring of 2024. According to investigators, he was involved in the theft of more than 1,700 tons of rolled metal products worth over 105 million rubles, which were meant for the construction of defensive structures in the Zaporizhzhia region. Investigators claim that the general signed documents containing false information stating that the metal had been delivered to the army, when in reality it had been taken from the warehouse to another region by third parties. Popov denies any wrongdoing.

A criminal case was opened against Popov under Part 2 of Article 292 (official forgery, punishable by up to four years in prison) and Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code (large-scale fraud, punishable by up to ten years in prison).

In March 2025, the general wrote an open letter to Putin, asking the President to look into his case and allow him to return to the army. According to Popov, he found himself in a difficult life situation and does not understand what is happening around him. He called the prosecution unjustified.

Major General Popov served in the Armed Forces for 32 years and was dismissed in late 2024.

Details

Ivan Ivanovich Popov (Russian: Иван Иванович Попов; born 30 January 1975) is a former Russian Ground Forces major general who commanded the 58th Combined Arms Army until he was dismissed in July 2023. By May 2022, Popov was chief of staff of the 11th Army Corps in Kaliningrad Oblast. He commanded the Russian forces in the Balakliia area by June, conducting a chaotic retreat during the Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive in September. Despite the Russian defeat, Popov was promoted to major general and commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army, responsible for the Zaporizhzhia sector, by March 2023. He announced the defeat of Ukrainian attacks in the Zaporizhzhia sector during the Ukrainian counteroffensive on 8 June. However, on 11 July milblogger Telegram channel VChK-OGPU reported that Popov had been relieved of command for requesting the rotation of units out of the frontline. On the next day, State Duma deputy Andrey Gurulyov published a message from Popov explaining the reasons for his dismissal.