This Russian general missed the Kursk offensive

Within days, a counterattack overran the Ukrainian defenders on the Kursk border. 1,100 square kilometers of land and dozens of villages were captured and hundreds of soldiers were captured. This is embarrassing for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. And now the culprit is said to have been found.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Colonel General Alexander Lapin was responsible. The 60-year-old dissolved the region’s Security Council in the spring. The army and local security officials jointly organized security there.

But Lapin wanted the military to be solely responsible for security. Because he argued that only the army can protect the border.

But the army at Kursk was thinly staffed and unprepared. There are no mines or strong defenses. That is why Ukraine was able to break through the defense lines.

Alexander Lapin had a distinguished career in the Russian army. He commanded troops in Syria and later was in charge of Russia’s Central Military District. But the war in Ukraine took a turn.

At the beginning of the Ukrainian war he led the Army Group Center. He recorded victories at Sumy and Chernihiv, but his soldiers were accused of war crimes. In the autumn of the first year of the war, the general was surprised by a Ukrainian counterattack. As his defenses were inadequate, he had to abandon Lyman City.

There was already loud criticism at the time: Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov demanded that Labin be demoted to an ordinary soldier. A light gun and without shoes should be placed in front of him. Putin heeded his “bloodhound” only partially: he replaced Lapin, but did not send him forward as a simple soldier.