Ivan Popov, a disgraced ex-commander of Russia's 58th Military preventing in Ukraine, was sentenced by a Russian army court docket to 5 years imprisonment over a large-scale fraud, Interfax information company reported on April 24.
Popov was additionally stripped of his army rank as main normal and fined 800,000 rubles ($9,600).
The ex-commander was arrested in Might 2024 on suspicion of collaborating within the theft of 1,700 metric tons of steel meant for constructing fortifications within the Russian-occupied a part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The fraud reportedly induced damages of 115 million rubles ($1.4 million).
Popov's co-defendant, businessman Sergei Moiseyev, was sentenced to 4 years and fined 600,000 rubles ($7,200).
Popov has pleaded not responsible and plans to enchantment the decision. The Russian media reported that he sought to keep away from a jail sentence by requesting permission to return to the entrance in Ukraine.
He was anticipated to steer one of many Storm-Z detachments, a front-line assault group largely composed of convicts and recognized for prime casualty charges, Kommerstant's supply in safety providers claimed.
The court docket has denied this request, Popov's lawyer Sergei Buinovsky mentioned, in line with Interfax.
Popov was dismissed from his command in 2023 after he reportedly bypassed the command of Chief of the Common Employees of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and tried to directly appeal to the Kremlin over poor battlefield circumstances.
The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak