Former commander of the 58th Army, Major General Ivan Popov, said that all commanders of this military unit are ready to testify in the criminal case against them, TASS reports, citing Popov’s remarks at a meeting of the Second Western District Military Court.
“All commanders agreed to the request submitted to the investigator at the final stage of familiarization with the materials, but my requests were ignored and not satisfied, and this violates my rights to my defense and proof of innocence,” – said.
The same court recognized as legal the decision of the 235th Garrison Military Court to limit the time limit for hearing Popov’s case until September 3. The general tried to appeal this decision. At the same time, the soldier asked to involve several of his former colleagues in the case against him as defense witnesses. The Investigative Committee refused to question them.
Popov was arrested on May 17 and released under house arrest two months later. The investigation considers him involved in the theft of more than 1.7 thousand tons of rolled metal products worth 130 million rubles. He is accused of fraud on an especially large scale by a group of persons through prior conspiracy and forgery. Popov denies any wrongdoing.
The general led the 58th Combined Arms Army towards Zaporozhye after the start of the military operation in Ukraine. In the summer of 2023, an audio message was published in which he spoke of his report to the leadership on the shortage of weapons, the “mass deaths and injuries” of soldiers and his subsequent dismissal.
