Putin faces increased criticism as General Lapin blamed for Kursk defense failures
General Alexander Lapin, already under fire for the loss of the key Ukrainian city of Lyman, is now being blamed for the failure in Kursk by Russian media outlets. The Moscow Times reports, citing military correspondents, President Vladimir Putin is depicted as personally responsible for the Russian army's setbacks in Kursk by appointing the poorly regarded General Lapin to guard the border.
The publication notes the parallels between this most recent failure on August 6, 2024, and the Lyman debacle in 2022, when Ukrainian forces reclaimed 3,000 square kilometers of previously occupied land. Currently, Ukraine's Army has seized around 1,000 square kilometers in Kursk. On August 13, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine now controls 74 settlements (source), attributing this breakthrough to the weak defensive lines and numerical superiority of Ukrainian forces.
The news outlet highlights that in 2022, Ukrainian forces captured hundreds of Russian assets in the Kharkiv region and targeted military installations in Belgorod. Following a series of defeats along the Balakliya-Lyman-Izyum line, Lapin was removed from his post as the commander of the Central Military District. After that disastrous campaign, he was put in charge of the defense of Kursk, suggesting that the Russian Ministry of Defense is plagued not only by brutal practices and occupation tactics but also by nepotism and corruption.
In October 2022, it was reported that Putin promised Lapin the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces if battlefield successes in Ukraine were achieved.