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58th Combined Arms Army, military unit 47084
(Republic of North Ossetia-Alania)

On the evening of July 12, a recording with the voice of Major General Ivan Popov (call sign Spartak), known in the military environment for his successes on the Zaporozhye front, was circulated on social networks. In particular, the audio was posted on the Telegram channel of Andrey Gurulev, Deputy Head of the State Duma Defense Committee, State Duma Deputy. It was reported that Ivan Popov was removed from the post of commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces "for the truth." The Ministry of Defense did not comment on this information.

"As many commanders of the regiments of the division said today, the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine could not break through our army from the front, our senior commander hit us from the rear, treacherously and vilely decapitating the army at the most difficult and tense moment," the Russian major general said.

On July 11, the Dune Hotel in temporarily occupied Berdyansk, where the command headquarters of the Russian 58th Army was allegedly located, was allegedly hit by a Storm Shadow missile, killing occupying Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov. ussian Telegram channels wrote that Tsokov died by accident, saying that Major General Ivan Popov was the real target.

According to Popov, "many things have happened" over the past few days, including his removal from the post of commander. “I have always been honest, from the first day I arrived in our army. Therefore, I honestly tell you: a difficult situation arose with the senior authorities, when it was necessary either to remain silent and cowardly and say what they wanted to hear, or to call a spade a spade. And in the name of you, in the name of all our military friends who died, I had no right to lie, so I outlined all the problematic issues that exist today in the army, ”said the general.

“He called all things by their proper names, drew attention to the most important thing - the tragedy of modern warfare. This is the absence of counter-battery combat, reconnaissance, ” the message says. Popov also drew attention to the wounds of Russian soldiers received from enemy artillery. According to the major general, he outlined a number of other issues that "were expressed at the highest level, frankly, extremely harshly."

The chairman of the movement “We are together with Russia”, Vladimir Rogov, was one of the first to react to the message about the removal of the commander of the 58th Army, Ivan Popov. According to him, the general lost his post "for the truth about the problems of the army."

“Comrade General successfully and competently commanded most of the Zaporozhye Front, which the enemy has not been able to break through for a month and a half. <...> Ivan Ivanovich, it is a great honor for me to be personally acquainted with you. You are a real Russian Officer!” — Rogov wrote in his Telegram channel.

According to the source of the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, the reason for the removal of the commander of the 58th Army, Ivan Popov, could be that the general, during a report to the head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, “raised the question of the need to rotate units that have been on the line of clashes for a long period of time ". The channel's report claims that Popov spoke about the losses and was stripped of his post after declaring his readiness to personally report the problem to Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin. The Ministry of Defense has not yet commented on these reports.

According to Russian political scientist Sergei Markov, what happened is “of course, this is not a rebellion against Putin, but a call for Putin to intervene.”

“Popular among the troops for the success of the defense on the Zaporozhye Front, the commander of the 58th Army, General Popov, was dismissed from his post. Immediately after that, he turned to his soldiers and officers and stated that his dismissal was a treacherous stab in the back of the army <...> That he was fired because he proposed to remove the shortcomings of management. Criticism from Popov on the facts is very similar to criticism from Prigogine,” Sergei Markov notes .

The political scientist believes that "such public disputes in the top military leadership of the Russian Army, of course, are not a sign of strength." “We urgently need to put things in order. And the Zaporozhye Front is the most important all month of the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The army needs order,” Markov concluded.

Ivan Popov served in the troops of the North Caucasian Military District in various positions, starting from a platoon commander. He graduated from the Academy of the General Staff, and in 2016, by decree of the President of Russia, he was appointed commander of the 33rd separate motorized rifle brigade.

Colonel Popov commanded the 20th brigade and at the same time the troops of the Volgograd garrison for about a year, until September 2017. Local experts note that this turned out to be one of the “fastest” brigade commanders - now Popov is moving up and, according to rumors that are walking in the army, he will soon put on the shoulder straps of a major general and move to Krasnodar, where he will take the post of deputy commander of the 49th army. “This is not our only commander who became a general,” NG was told in the garrison. “Many of our officers today command large formations, hold positions in the General Staff, etc.”

“Ivan Ivanovich Popov has a good reputation in the military environment,” military expert Alexander Foliyev told NG. - The soldiers of the 20th brigade under his command showed themselves well during the latest exercises at the Prudboy training ground in Volgograd and at the Kadamovsk training ground in the Rostov region. In addition, it was the servicemen of the Popov brigade who were engaged in the provision of military rally and tank biathlon projects in terms of ensuring movement, the work of evacuation services, etc. All this did not go unnoticed in Moscow.”

The 58th Army was subsequently headed by Lieutenant General Denis Lyamin. Popov noted in the appeal that he was waiting to receive an offer for further service.

Lieutenant General Mikhail Zusko was reportedly arrested in Russia. The probable reason for his arrest was the failure of the offensive in southern Ukraine. Zusko was in charge of the most combat-ready army of the 58th Army of Russia's Southern Military District. This was reported 02 June 2022 by military journalist Andrey Tsaplienko in his Telegram channel. According to Tsaplienko, he got a tape with an intercepted conversation between the occupiers, in which one of the invaders spoke about the arrest of the general. "I got an interesting audio interception of a conversation with one of those Ossetians who apparently fights on the side of the occupiers. It reveals that General Mikhail Zusko, who commands the most combat-ready Russian 58th Army, has been arrested. For failures in the offensive near Mykolayiv," Tsaplienko wrote.

Lieutenant General Mikhail Stepanovich Zusko, Commander, 58th Combined Arms Army, assumed command of the 58th CAA in August 2020. Zusko has Ukrainian roots - he was born in Volyn. However, according to the journalist, residents of the Ukrainian region where he is from probably no longer consider him a Ukrainian. According to the conversation, the general allegedly "leaked" Russian positions near Mykolayiv to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which helped the Ukrainian military to destroy the invaders successfully, while the offensive against the town was also blocked. "Not least of all, judging from the conversation, Zusko's background influenced the decision to arrest him. He was born in Volyn, but I think the real Volyn people who are fighting for their home no longer consider him a Ukrainian," Tsaplienko said.

ZUSKO is a member of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation; he has been Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (West) since mid-2022. Therefore, there are sufficient grounds to suspect that Lieutenant General ZUSKO is a "person involved" because he "destabilizes Ukraine or undermines or threatens the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine" because he works for the Russian government as a Lieutenant General of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Considering the current international situation around Ukraine and in order to promote international efforts to achieve international peace aimed at resolving this issue, in accordance with the measures taken by other major countries, the Government of Japan has introduced, after taking measures in accordance with the Law on Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade, on the basis of the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers on the “freezing of assets of individuals and legal entities of the Russian Federation and other measures of May 26, 2023”.

The UK on 13 December 2022 announced a new package of 16 sanctions targeting senior Russian commanders for their involvement in the Russian military. This included Lieutenant General Mikhail Stepanovich Zusko, Chief of Staff Russian Forces Group (West).

The 58th Combined Arms Army was first formed in the Siberian Military District on November 10, 1941 on the basis of the directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (VGK) of November 2, 1941. It was directly subordinate to the Headquarters of the Supreme Command, and after formation was relocated to the territory of the Arkhangelsk Military District for deployment of works on equipping a defensive line on the shore of the Mariinsky Canal from Lake Onega to Lake Beloe. At the end of May 1942, the association was transformed into the 3rd Panzer Army.

In June 1942, the 58th combined-arms army was re-formed on the basis of the directive of the Supreme High Command Headquarters of June 17, 1942 and became part of the Kalinin Front. Since June 20, the army has been in the front reserve near the town of Ostashkov. In early August 1942, field control, formations, and military units of the 58th Army were turned to form the 39th Army.

On August 30, 1942, the 58th combined-arms army was formed for the third time on the basis of the directive of the Supreme High Command Headquarters of August 23, 1942 as part of the Transcaucasian Front of the 2nd formation. Her field control was formed on the basis of the field control of the 24th army.

By the beginning of the Malgobek defensive operation, the 58th Army was part of the Northern Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front, made up the second echelon of the group and performed the task of equipping the defensive line in the Makhachkala region.

At the end of November 1942, the main forces of the army were regrouped on the river. Terek to the area of Malgobek, where during December defensive battles were fought at the line of Mozdok, Upper Kurp. At the same time, the forces of the rifle division continued to defend Makhachkala.

In January 1943, the 58th Army, as part of the Northern Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front, participated in an offensive operation in the Stavropol direction with the aim of defeating the German Army Group “A” and liberating the North Caucasus. Going on the offensive on January 1, formations and military units of the army crossed the river. Terek and January 3 liberated the cities of Mozdok and Malgobek. Then they crossed the Terek River and, in cooperation with the 44th Army, began to pursue the enemy on the entire 320-km front.

By January 24, 1943, the army entered the area north of Novoaleksandrovskaya (70 km north-west of Armavir), where it was reassigned to the North Caucasus Front. In the course of the further offensive, the formations and military units of the army in early February reached the coast of the Sea of Azov. Then, as part of the main strike force of the front, they took part in the Krasnodar operation.

On September 10, 1943, the 58th Army was withdrawn to the reserve of the Supreme Command and on November 15, 1943 it was disbanded. Her field office is aimed at manning the management of the Volga Military District.

On June 1, 1995, in accordance with the directive of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation of March 17, 1995, the command of the 58th combined arms army with headquarters in Vladikavkaz was formed on the basis of the command of the 42nd Army Corps of the North Caucasus Military District. This day is the day of the formation of the army.

In November-December 1992, the personnel of the 58th army took part in the settlement of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict, and then in the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus and in the operation to force Georgia to peace in August 2008.

Russian Minister of Defense General of the Army Sergey Shoigu awarded the Order of Suvorov to the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District. This was reported to reporters on 29 May 2020 at the Ministry of Defense.

The decree on rewarding the association for services to strengthen the country's defense, high performance in combat training, heroism, courage and selflessness shown by the personnel during the performance of combat missions, was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Awarding the order established in honor of Generalissimo Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov is a high assessment of the work of the command, military personnel and civilian personnel of the 58th combined arms army of the Southern Military District," said the head of the Ministry of Defense, presenting the award at the National Defense Management Center of the Russian Federation.

According to Shoigu, "throughout the long history of the glorified association, its personnel has been a model of service to the Fatherland, demonstrating loyalty to the best traditions of the Russian army." The Minister emphasized that the awarding of the Order of Suvorov obliges a lot. “I’m sure that you will worthily follow his science to win, like the legendary commander, honestly perform military duty, make a significant contribution to strengthening the defense capabilities of the Fatherland,” concluded Shoigu.

During the Great Patriotic War, military personnel of the Transcaucasian Front selflessly fought against the Nazi invaders. The personnel of the 58th combined arms army took part in the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus, and solved special tasks of forcing Georgia to peace in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. For courage and heroism 52 army personnel were awarded the high title of Hero of Russia. The army was formed on November 10, 1941 in the Siberian Military District. It was recreated in accordance with the directive of the Minister of Defense of March 17, 1995.