The verdict of the former commander of the 58th army The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to Major General Ivan Popov, who received five years in prison in the case of embezzlement, remained unchanged. This decision was made by the Second Western District Military Court today, July 25.
The case was considered by a panel of three judges. Popov participated in the meeting via video link with the second defendant Sergei Moiseev, who is also in jail in the Tambov region.
"The appeal of Popov Ivan Ivanovich... to leave without satisfaction," the judge announced the decision.
As lawyer Sergei Buinovsky told RIA Novosti, the defense of the former commander will continue to appeal the verdict.
"We will appeal. This is an interim decision, there is a cassation, there is a Supreme Court. We hope that we will be heard and the innocent person will not be imprisoned," the lawyer said.
As EADaily reported, on April 24, one of the defenders of the Zaporozhye region, Major-General Ivan Popov, was found guilty of fraud and forgery by the Tambov garrison Military Court and sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 5 years with serving a sentence in a general regime colony, stripped of his military rank, and he was also fined 800 thousand. A number of Russian bloggers called this decision frankly custom-made, hinting at the top military leadership, which is thus settling accounts with Popov.
On July 24, the governor of the Zaporozhye region, Yevgeny Balitsky, announced the awarding of commanders of military formations whose units participated in repelling the Ukrainian Armed Forces counteroffensive in the Zaporozhye direction in 2023. Among them was Major General Ivan Popov, who received the Order of Merit for the Zaporozhye region, I degree "for courage, professionalism and performance of duty."