2023-09-08 07:26:00
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Russian Major General Konstantin Ogienko. © Balashikha City District Administration
A criminal case was opened against Major General Konstantin Ogienko. He is accused of taking bribes.
Moscow – Russia has once again dismissed an important military officer. Russian Major General Konstantin Ogienko, head of the 1st Air and Missile Defense Army, which is responsible for Moscow’s air defense, was arrested on bribery charges. This is reported by the Russian news agency Tass.
According to the report, the criminal case against Ogienko was initiated in July 2023. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison. Ogienko is currently in pre-trial detention, scheduled until at least November 27.
Uproar in Putin’s army again: air defense chief arrested for bribery
The Russian daily newspaper Kommersant writes about the case that Ogienko and another major general, Dmitri Beljatski, commander of the 4th Russian air defense division, received 500,000 rubles, the equivalent of almost 4,750 euros, from the head of the Hope organization. The sum is said to be the first batch of the bribe, for which the military promised to provide land in Dolgoprudny and Lobnya near Moscow that belong to the Russian Defense Ministry. In total, there was talk of a bribe amounting to 30 million rubles, almost 285,000 euros.
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Belyatsky has already pleaded guilty and made a deal with the military. He was placed under house arrest. Ogienko denied the crime and was removed from his post after the indictment.
Video: Russian military throws out more top commanders
There are repeated layoffs in the Russian military. In mid-July, Russian General Ivan Popov, then commander of the 58th Army, publicly criticized the Russian military leadership. Then he had to take off his hat. After Yevgeny Prigozhin’s coup attempt in June of this year, the chairs of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and that of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, even shook. According to reports, both were barely able to hold on. (fmu)
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