Putin arrests his own military chief for 'leaking' as Russian army suffers heavy losses
dailystar.co.ukRussia’s invasion of Ukraine – originally forecast to be over in less than a week – limps into its third week, furious Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin is looking for someone to blame.Reports are emerging that General Roman Gavrilov, the deputy chief of Russia's Rosgvardia unit which was the spearhead of the first push into Ukrainian territory, has been arrested by the feared Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation – The FSB.The reason for Gavrilov’s arrest is not immediately clear.
One source quoted by Bellincat’s Christo Grozev say the charge was "wasteful squandering of fuel” while a more serious charge of "leaks of military information that led to loss of life” has also been rumoured.
Russian broadsheet Pravda reported that Putin was throwing elite the Rosgvardia [Russian Federal National Guard Troops Service] special forces into the war against Ukraine, and listed a number of casualties that the unit had already sustained.
Estimates of Russia's total casualty figures vary wildly. According to official Kremlin sources, just 498 Russian servicemen have lost their lives in the invasion of Ukraine while a US estimate puts the figure closer to 7,000 – more than the number of American troops killed over 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
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