Moscow Times: General Lapin resigns command of Russian Army Group ‘Center’ in Ukraine

Colonel General Alexander Lapin has been removed from his post as commander of the Army Group “Center,” according to sources of the Moscow Times and the RBK media group.

The Chechen state broadcasting company Grozny also reported Lapin’s resignation without citing sources. The “patriotic” Telegram channel Grey Zone wrote about “reports” that Lapin was removed from his post.

There is no official confirmation of this information.

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• Alexander Lapin became commander of the Russian Central Military District in 2017. The “Center” Army Group, which he led in Ukraine, captured the Luhansk region.
• In the summer President Vladimir Putin awarded Lapin the titled Hero of Russia. According to Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov, the title was connected to the capture of Lysychansk, although Kadyrov said “in fact he wasn’t anywhere near there.”
• Kadyrov has criticized Lapin twice in the past month. At the beginning of October he called the general “talentless” because of the Russian retreat from the city of Lyman in the northern Donetsk region. At the end of the month, Kadyrov blamed Lapin for allowing Ukrainian forces to break through one part of the front.