Russia Arrests Generals in Charge of Moscow's Air Defenses

High-ranking Russian military officers have been arrested on corruption charges, according to state media reports.

News agency Tass reported on Wednesday that Major General Konstantin Ogienko, the former commander of the Special Purpose Air Defense Army which is in charge of Moscow's air defenses, had been detained.

Major General Dmitry Belyatsky, commander of Russia's 4th Air Defense Division, was also placed under house arrest.

The news agency said that a bribery investigation was underway into claims that at the end of June in the city of Dolgoprudny, in the Moscow Region, Belyatsky had received 500,000 roubles ($5,100) from the head of the Nadezhda organization on behalf of Ogienko.

The money was an installment of a 30 million rubles ($305,000) bribery scheme in which the Russian military would allocate land for development, including in Dolgoprudny and the town of Lobnya, business newspaper Kommersant reported.

Byalyatsky has admitted guilt and made a deal with the investigators in which he testified against Ogienko, who has not admitted guilt, Tass reported.

Investigators said that despite Ogienko's non-admission of guilt following his charge under Part 6 of Article 290 of Russia's Criminal Code "his involvement in carrying out the crime is confirmed by the totality of the collected evidence," Tass reported.

Ogienko had served as commander of the 1st Order of Lenin Special Purpose Air and Missile Defences Forces Army since 2021 before his removal from his post after a criminal case was initiated against him.

His term of custody has been extended until November 27 and if convicted, could face up to 15 years in prison.

Moscow's air defenses, which Ogienko was in charge of, have failed to prevent dozens of drone attacks believed to have been launched from Ukraine. These attacks have hit manufacturing plants and high-rise buildings, including government ministries.

There was also a drone strike on the Kremlin Senate building in May although there is no reported link so far between these air defense shortcomings and Ogienko's arrest.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.

Another prominent Russian general, Sergei Surovikin, a former commander of Moscow's forces in Ukraine, appeared to resurface on Monday after disappearing from public view for weeks.

Surovikin had not been seen since Wagner Group's aborted mutiny on June 24 and was reportedly detained as part of a purge of military officials. Reports in July based on U.S. intelligence suggested he had known in advance about the plans of the late former Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's plans to march on Moscow.

Update 09/07/23, 6.30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.