The Kremlin apparently fired a top Russian general after troops under his command took “exceptionally heavy casualties” during several offensive operations in Ukraine, British military officials said Thursday.
Gen. Rustam Muradov was “highly likely” dismissed from his position as commander of the Eastern Group of Forces in Ukraine. His troops were hit hard in recent months as a result of “poorly conceived assaults” that failed to capture the crucial town of Vuhledar in eastern Ukraine, U.K. officials said in their latest assessment of the battlefield.
“The operations attracted intense public criticism from across the spectrum of Russian commentators — including Muradov’s own troops,” British officials posted Thursday on Twitter.
Gen. Muradov assumed command of the EGF after failed assaults aimed at Kyiv from the northwest during the initial full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. He is the highest-ranking Russian officer to be dismissed in 2023.
