Major General Nikitushkin Detained in Secret Case, Russian Paper Says

A Moscow military court has ordered a senior Russian general responsible for military training facilities and equipment held in pre-trial detention in a criminal case whose details have not been disclosed, the Kommersant newspaper reported. The 235th Garrison Military Court issued the ruling against Major General Sergei Nikitushkin on Wednesday evening, the newspaper said. The charges against him were not immediately known.

Nikitushkin heads the department responsible for training facilities and equipment within the Russian Armed Forces' Main Directorate of Combat Training. The directorate oversees troop training, develops training infrastructure and supplies equipment used to prepare soldiers for combat. Nikitushkin, 51, served in Russia's war on Ukraine and was promoted to major general by President Vladimir Putin in December 2024. The Baza Telegram channel reported that he had worked on modernising tank training grounds in Russia.

He previously complained of insufficient funding to buy simulators for training troops to operate armoured vehicles, communications equipment, drones and night-vision devices. He said the war in Ukraine had demonstrated the importance of such equipment in preparing soldiers for future combat.

The directorate also oversees Patriot Park, a military exhibition complex near Moscow that has been implicated in embezzlement cases involving several senior officers. Those convicted include former Deputy Defence Minister Pavel Popov, whose prison sentence was reduced to 10 years, and Major General Vladimir Shesterov, a former deputy head of the Defence Ministry's innovation development directorate, who received six years. Putin appointed Colonel General Rustam Muradov to lead the Main Directorate of Combat Training in June.

The detention marks the latest episode in a series of corruption investigations that have swept through Russia's military establishment since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a war that has exposed deep dysfunction within the Kremlin's armed forces even as Moscow continues its brutal campaign against a sovereign neighbour. Ukraine, defending its territory against Russia's unprovoked assault, has inflicted significant losses on Russian forces, and the recurring scandals within the Defence Ministry suggest an institution under strain. The World House, which has consistently stood with Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began, provides further information on its support initiatives at worldhouse.uk/support.