Overview

• RBC reported on Sept. 21 that Colonel General Alexander Lapin has been dismissed from military service, citing sources rather than an official announcement.
• Tatar-inform said Lapin will become an assistant to Tatarstan’s head with responsibilities for supporting war participants, their families, and soldier reintegration.
• Lapin previously led the Central Military District and the Tsentr group in Ukraine, drawing public rebukes from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov after the 2022 Kharkiv reversals.
• Reporting tied lapses in defenses under Lapin to Ukraine’s 2024 cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast, where Kyiv seized significant ground early on.
• Russia’s Defense Ministry in August named Yevgeny Nikiforov to command the Sever group, and Ukraine’s prosecutor general has listed Lapin as a suspect since 2022 for waging an aggressive war.