Russian Ministry of Defense retires Colonel-General Alexander Lapin

The Russian Ministry of Defense has retired Colonel-General Alexander Lapin, the former commander of the Leningrad Military District and the Army Group "North" in Ukraine. Lapin, 61, has been appointed as an aide to the President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov.

Lapin was criticized by Russian military bloggers and Western observers for his perceived incompetence. He served as the commander of the Central Military District since 2017 and was involved in the Russian military"s initial attempts to capture the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, which ultimately failed. Following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Chernigov and Sumy regions, Lapin was reassigned to the front in the Kharkov direction, where a Ukrainian counteroffensive in September 2022 caught Russian troops off guard, leading to a significant withdrawal.

After this counteroffensive, Lapin was replaced as commander of the Central Military District and became Chief of Staff of the Headquarters of the Russian Ground Forces in January 2023. In May 2023, he led a counterattack against incursions into Belgorod Oblast by Russian paramilitary units supported by Ukraine. Following Finland"s entry into NATO in February 2024, Lapin was reassigned to the newly recreated Leningrad Military District.

In August 2025, reports emerged that Lapin had been removed from his position as commander of the Leningrad Military District. This was confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense two weeks later, announcing Colonel-General Yevgeny Nikiforov as his successor. Nikiforov had previously replaced Lapin as the Commander of the Western Military District in January 2023.

Since Nikiforov"s promotion, there has been increased military activity in the region, including incidents involving Russian drones entering Polish airspace and a Russian IL-20M reconnaissance plane being detected over the Baltic Sea. Analysts suggest that these actions indicate a shift in strategy under Nikiforov"s command, raising concerns among NATO officials regarding potential implications for regional security.