Vladimir Putin fires 'The Butcher of Mariupol' Mikhail Mizintsev
Vladimir Putin has fired Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, known as 'The Butcher of Mariupol', as deputy defence minister for war logistics after only seven months in the job.
Vladimir Putin has fired the Russian general known as 'The Butcher of Mariupol'.
Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev has been dismissed as deputy defence minister for war logistics after just seven months in the job.
Mizintsev oversaw the brutal siege on the Ukrainian city Mariupol last year and gave the order to bomb a theatre sheltering hundreds of families in a strike that left 300 people dead.
It was only last September that the notorious Mizintsev was appointed by Putin as the deputy to defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Mizintsev, known as "Putin's favourite", replaced General Dmitry Bulgakov - who had been blamed for a string of failings in the war against Ukraine.
His dismissal was reported by Russian state TV military correspondent Alexander Sladkov but it is unclear if his sacking hints at a new appointment or brings a humiliating end to his career.
Sladkov said: "This is my friend. And I respect him a lot. How, what, for what reason - it is difficult to guess. We'll find out later.
"The exact reasons are not yet clear, just as it is not clear whether this is removal from office, a suspension or a transfer to a new place of service."
It has been speculated that there could be widespread change amongst Putin's top brass as the tyrant has conducted numerous purges of his commanders amid a succession of failures on the battlefield in Ukraine.
