General Popov, convicted of theft during the construction of fortifications in the Zaporizhzhya region, was awarded the Order for Merit before this region

The head of the Zaporizhzhya region, Evgeny Balitsky, appointed by the Russian authorities, handed the Order “For Merit to the Zaporizhzhya Region” of the 1st degree to the ex-commander of the 58th Army Ivan Popov. Balitsky himself reported this in his telegram channel.

As follows from the wording, the award is awarded for “courage, professionalism and the fulfillment of official duty” - in particular, for the reflection of the counter -cost of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the summer of 2023. Balitsky in his post called Popov Major General, although the court deprived him of the military rank.

In April, the Tambov Military Court sentenced Popov to five years in a general regime in the case of fraud on an especially large scale and official forgery. According to the investigation , he participated in the embezzlement of more than 1.7 thousand tons of metal rolling in the amount of about 105 million rubles. Materials were purchased to strengthen defensive structures on the front line in the Zaporizhzhya region.

Popov himself did not plead guilty and stated that he wanted to return to military service. In March, he turned to Putin with a request to “understand the situation” and “return it to duty”.

In 2023, Ivan Popov recorded an audio community in which he said that he was removed from his post after a report on problems at the front, and sharply criticized the command.