Written By Lisa Murimi
Lt Gen Vadim Shamarin has been formally dismissed from his post following his arrest on bribery charges in May, Russian state media reported.
Shamarin, who served as deputy chief of the army’s general staff overseeing signals corps and military communications, was accused of accepting “a particularly large bribe” from a telecommunications company.
Prosecutors allege Shamarin took bribes from April 2016 to October 2023 to boost orders from the company’s factory. His arrest is part of a broader crackdown on corruption within the Russian defence ministry.
A military court in Moscow is set to decide on Thursday whether to extend his pre-trial detention until October.
Shamarin’s lawyer, Igor Dyukin, informed RIA Novosti that authorities had seized Shamarin’s Mercedes and frozen his salary card.
His arrest is part of a wider anti-corruption campaign that has led to the detention of several senior defence officials, including Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov and Lt Gen Yuri Kuznetsov.
This crackdown follows the dismissal of long-term Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu by President Vladimir Putin in May.
Shoigu was replaced by Andrei Belousov, an economist with little military experience. Experts believe the Kremlin’s anti-corruption efforts aim to boost military efficiency.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to make incremental gains in eastern Ukraine, with intense fighting in the Donbas region.
In Moscow, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that attempts to force Russia into peace talks would fail, reiterating Putin’s hardline demands for recognition of Russia’s claims over four Ukrainian territories.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently refused to engage in talks with Russia until its forces withdraw from Ukrainian territory. Addressing European leaders at the UK’s Blenheim Palace,
Zelensky condemned attempts to negotiate with Russia without Ukraine’s involvement, following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent visit to Moscow.
