After two days of diplomacy, the NATO summit in Vilnius wrapped Wednesday evening. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may have left without his main wish – full NATO membership for his war-torn country – he secured a streamlined future path into the alliance and a swathe of other security measures from Western allies.
To lose one general during a war that’s going badly might be seen as unfortunate; to lose two within 24 hours looks careless. But that is what’s happened to the Russian command in southern Ukraine – and the two cases illustrate further deficiencies and dissent among Russia’s military leadership.
General Ivan Popov, widely respected “soldier’s soldier” in command of Russian forces fighting to hold back Ukraine’s southern offensive has been sacked, days after his boss died in a missile strike.
To lose one general during a war that’s going badly might be seen as unfortunate; to lose two within 24 hours looks careless. But that is what’s happened to the Russian command in southern Ukraine – and the two cases illustrate further deficiencies and dissent among Russia’s military leadership.