Russian President Vladimir Putin called General Alexander Lapin the 'hero of Russia' for the capture of the Lysychansk region in Ukraine. Photo / AP, File
Russian President Vladimir Putin called General Alexander Lapin the 'hero of Russia' for the capture of the Lysychansk region in Ukraine. Photo / AP, File
Another of Russia’s senior military commanders has reportedly been replaced as Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine continues to flounder.
On Sunday night, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence shared intelligence that General Alexander Lapin, head of Russia’s Central Military District, had been removed from his position.
Lapin, who was named a “Hero of Russia” by Putin just four months ago, is the fourth senior commander to have suffered this fate since the invasion began.
He had commanded the Central Military District since 2017, having previously served as chief of staff for Russian forces in Syria.
“On November 3, Major General Alexander Linkov was reportedly appointed acting commander of Russia’s Central Military District. Linkov replaces Colonel General Alexander Lapin, who was purportedly removed from office at the end of October,” the UK Ministry of Defence said.
Aleksander Lapin had been criticised by the heads of the Chechen fighters and the Wagner Group. Photo / Supplied
“If confirmed, this follows a series of dismissals of senior Russian military commanders since the onset of the invasion in February. The commanders of the Eastern, Southern and Western Military Districts were replaced earlier this year.
“Lapin has been widely criticised for poor performance on the battlefield in Ukraine by both Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin.
“These dismissals represent a pattern of blame against senior Russian military commanders for failures to achieve Russian objectives on the battlefield.
“This is in part likely an attempt to insulate and deflect blame from Russian senior leadership at home.”
Criticism of Lapin’s performance exploded into public view at the start of October after Russian forces under his command were forced to withdraw from Lyman, a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine.
Kadyrov, head of Chechnya, called the general “talentless” and suggested he should be demoted, then sent to the front lines.
Chechnyan leader Ramzan Kadyrov is a staunch supporter of Vladimir Putin. Photo / Getty Images, File
“It’s not shameful that Lapin is talentless. It’s that he’s protected from above by leaders on the General Staff,” he said on October 3.
“If it were up to me, I’d demote Lapin to a private, strip his awards, and send him to the front with a gun in his hands so he could wash away his disgrace with blood.”
The Kremlin responded to these rather pointed remarks by acknowledging the loss of Lyman was “a very emotional moment”.
Meanwhile, Prigozhin, founder of a mercenary army called the Wagner Group, backed up Kadyrov’s critique.
“All these bastards should be sent barefoot to the front with automatic guns,” he said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, left, serving food to then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at Prigozhin's restaurant outside Moscow in 2011. Photo / Misha Japaridze, AP, File
On October 27, Kadyrov again vented publicly, accusing Lapin of falling out of contact with him and going missing.
“My guys can’t find him,” said Kadyrov, as reported by the independent Russian news publication Meduza.
“History is repeating itself with the collapse of the Lyman defensive line.
“I have a question: isn’t anyone interested in how Lapin got a star for capturing Lysychansk when he wasn’t even there?”
It was the Russian capture of the Lysychansk region that caused Putin to name Lapin a Hero of Russia in July.
“No one’s interested in how he managed to give up Lyman and there was no investigation? No one’s interested in how he managed to open a breach for the enemy and, once again, no investigation?” Kadyrov continued.
“No one’s interested in where he is now? No one’s interested in who’s protecting him so well?”
The report from British intelligence overnight followed unconfirmed stories in Chechen and Russian media that Lapin had been dismissed.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that officials in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, are preparing plans to evacuate three million residents from the city, should its energy infrastructure fail and cause a total blackout.
Russian forces have been relentlessly targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and have managed to at least damage 40 per cent of it.
“We understand that if Russia continues such attacks, we may lose our entire electricity system,” Roman Tkachuk, director of security for the Kyiv municipal government, told the Times in an interview.
“If there’s no power, there will be no water and no sewage. That’s why the government and city administration is taking all possible measures to protect our power supply system.”
He said officials expected to have at least 12 hours’ notice of a total energy grid failure, giving them time to “start informing people” and telling them to evacuate.
