The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said that General Alexander Lapin, who led the defense, was personally to blame for the loss of Liman by the Russian military. Kadyrov also said that Lapin taught the star of the hero of Russia for the capture of Lisichansk, although in fact "he was not there and was not around."
“The colonel-general deployed mobilized fighters from the LPR and other units on all lines of the Liman direction, but did not provide them with the necessary communications, interaction and the supply of ammunition. Two weeks ago, my dear BROTHER Apty Alaudinov, my dear BROTHER Apty Alaudinov, personally reported to me that our fighters could become an easy target. In turn, I informed Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, about the danger. But the general assured me that he had no doubts about Lapin's leadership talent and did not believe that a retreat was possible in Krasny Liman and its environs.
A week later, Lapin moves his headquarters to Starobelsk, a hundred kilometers from his subordinates, while he himself sits in Lugansk. How can you quickly manage units, being 150 km away from them? Due to the lack of elementary military logistics, today we have left several settlements and a large piece of territory.
It's not a shame that Lapin is mediocre. And the fact that he is covered at the top by the leaders in the General Staff. If I had my way, I would have demoted Lapin to the rank of private, would have deprived him of his awards and, with a machine gun in his hands, would have sent him to the front lines to wash away my shame with blood. I don't know what the RF Ministry of Defense reports to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, but in my personal opinion, more drastic measures should be taken, up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.
Yesterday there was a parade in Izyum, today a flag in Liman, and what tomorrow? Everything would be fine if it weren't so bad."
Alexander Lapin passed all command positions, headed the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and since 2017 he has been commander of the troops of the Central Military District. He was repeatedly mentioned in the reports of the Ministry of Defense on the course of the war in Ukraine: he appeared as a general presenting "state awards to servicemen who showed courage and heroism during a special military operation."
Lapin also awarded his son Denis Lapin, a lieutenant colonel who commanded a regiment advancing on Chernigov and Sumy. From the talks published by Ukrainian intelligence, it is clear that the regiment suffered serious losses, but its commander, Lapin Jr., was presented for an award.
