Another military commander arrested in Russia amid failures in Ukraine - ISW

Russian authorities have arrested the former deputy rear commander of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division (20th Combined Arms Army, Moscow Military District) Colonel Dmitry Peshkov, likely because of Russian failures at the front.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said this in a Russian offensive campaign assessment for August 2, Ukrinform reports.

According to Russian media, the arrest took place on August 2. The colonel was charged for the embezzlement of food rations for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, to which he pleaded not guilty.

"Peshkov's arrest is likely part of a concerted Kremlin effort to remove high-ranking Russian officials from the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), potentially to indirectly punish commanders for the failures of their troops or to maintain a cadre of loyal and compliant officers within the highest ranks of the Russian military," ISW analysts said.

They added that elements of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division have reportedly been conducting offensive operations in the Terny-Nevske area of the Luhansk region with limited success and have recently lost some territory to limited Ukrainian counterattacks in this area.

In May 2024, a Russian court arrested the former commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army, Major General Ivan Popov, on charges of corruption. He was removed from his post last year in July after criticizing the situation in the Russian army and high casualties.