“After Shoigu was removed from the post of Minister of Defense, Popov refused the option previously offered to him to resign for health reasons. Popov argued his refusal by the fact that, according to his assumption, the Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov, who is the main organizer of the persecution against Popov, will be dismissed next.
In addition, Popov attempted to contact the FSB military counterintelligence department in order to give incriminating evidence against Gerasimov. Popov made it clear that he plans to bring a dozen more officers who are also ready to give relevant testimony. Already on the eve of his arrest on May 17, Popov said that he had refused to cooperate with the FSB on this issue and notified those who agreed to testify against Gerasimov that this was no longer necessary.
Popov did not give reasons for this decision to his circle. Those in contact with him noted his depressed state at that moment.
It is also noteworthy that the evidentiary materials regarding Popov’s illegal sale of metal structures were provided by the FSB DVKR. Anton Aleksandrovich Durmanenko, an employee of the DVKR FSB, was directly involved in Popov’s case.
It is worth noting that the sale of scrap metal is a widespread activity among commanders of units located in a war zone. At the same time, servicemen of the 58th Army claim that Popov transferred all the money from the sale of scrap metal to the needs of his units, since due to the conflict with Gerasimov he was deprived of the proper level of support from the General Staff.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”