Tallinn (Estonia), May 21 (AP) A Russian general who was relieved of duty last year after complaining about problems faced by his troops in Ukraine has been arrested on charges of widescale bribery, Russian news reports said Tuesday.

The arrest of Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov, who had commanded the 58th Guards Combined Arms Army, follows the arrest last month of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, a close associate of then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, also on bribery charges.

Also Read | Heatwave Warning in Pakistan: Schools Shut, Hospitals on Alert As Pakistan Sizzles at 50 Degrees Celsius in Some Areas.

President Vladimir Putin dismissed Shoigu as defense minister on May 12, appointing him head of the national security council. Shoigu had been widely blamed for Russia's failure to capture Kyiv early in the Ukraine fighting and was accused of incompetence and corruption by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who launched a mutiny in June 2023 to demand the dismissal of Shoigu and military chief of staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov.

Less than a month after Prigozhin's failed uprising, Popov was dismissed. He said he had spoken to Shoigu about insufficient equipment in the Ukraine war that had led to excessive Russian deaths, and that his dismissal was a "“treacherous” stab in the back to Russian forces in Ukraine.

Also Read | Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 Flight Struck by Severe Turbulence, British Passenger Dies; Pics and Videos of Horrified Passengers Surface.

Popov's forces were fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region, one of the most hotly contested areas in the Ukraine war. His dismissal came one day after the 58th Army's command post in the city of Berdyansk was hit in a Ukrainian strike, killing a high-ranking general. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)