A Russian general in charge of personnel issues has been detained on suspicion of engaging in criminal activity, Tass news agency reported early on Tuesday, quoting a source in the security services.
Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov, head of the Main Personnel Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense, has been detained as part of a series of high-profile criminal cases involving the Russian military brass.
Kuznetsov, who previously served as the head of a General Staff department responsible for the protection of state secrets, is currently in a pre-trial detention center following an arrest request by the 235th Garrison Military Court in Moscow.
The charges against him have not been disclosed, and searches have been conducted at his workplace. This development is seen as part of a broader shake-up within the Russian military leadership.
News of the arrest of Lieutenant-General Yuri Kuznetsov was made public barely a day after President Vladimir Putin oversaw major changes in Russia’s defence establishment, including the dismissal and transfer of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Searches were conducted at Kuznetsov’s workplace and residence, the report said without disclosing further details of the criminal case.
From 2010 to 2023, Kuznetsov served as the head of the 8th Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, which is in charge of protecting state secrets within the Ministry of Defense.
According to the Ministry of Defense, Kuznetsov was appointed to his current position in May 2023.
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