Paranoid Vladimir Putin Fires Russian General Dubbed 'Butcher of Mariupol' in Sudden Purge of Inner Circle
April 28 2023, Published 2:15 p.m. ET
Vladimir Putin has reportedly sacked a Moscow general dubbed the “Butcher of Mariupol” as the Russian leader grows increasingly paranoid about his inner circle, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In the latest casualty to come as the 70-year-old Russian president continues to purge some of the Kremlin officials closest to him, Putin reportedly fired Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev earlier this week.
According to Daily Star, Mizintsev was appointed by Putin to serve as the Russian military’s deputy defense minister for logistics in September 2022.
Mizintsev has also been accused of being the Russian general behind a devastating attack against the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in May 2022 – earning the now-former colonel-general the moniker of “Butcher of Mariupol.”
Prior to being named deputy defense minister for logistics last year, Mizintsev reportedly served as the head of Russia’s National Defense Management Center since December 2014.
He was also sanctioned by the British government in March 2022 for "reprehensible" actions committed in both Ukraine and Syria.
“Mizintsev is the Chief of the National Defence Command and Control Centre, where all Russian military operations are planned and controlled worldwide,” a spokesperson for the British government said when Mizintsev was sanctioned last year.
"Mizintsev is known for using reprehensible tactics, including shelling civilian centers in both Aleppo in 2015-16 and now in Mariupol,” the source continued, “where atrocities are being perpetuated against Ukrainian people."
Alexander Sladkov, a Russian war correspondent and “friend” to Mizintsev, further confirmed the colonel-general was fired this week.
Sladkov also indicated that Alexei Kuzmenkov – the current head of Russia's National Guard – is set to take over Mizintsev’s role as deputy defense minister for logistics.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the “Butcher of Mariupol” is just the latest top general to be fired from Putin’s inner circle in recent weeks.
Admiral Sergei Avakyants, who until recently served as commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet, was also sacked by Putin this month for “insubordination.”
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Avakyants was allegedly axed by Putin directly after the commander refused to send his sailors to die in Ukraine as “cannon fodder” for the Russian leader’s ongoing war effort.
"His sailors, trained officers, well-coordinated crews, would not be torn apart," one Russian source familiar with the commander’s firing wrote on Telegram last weekend.
