A senior commander of Russian forces in occupied southern Ukraine says he was fired after he accused Russia’s defense minister of betraying troops under his command. In an audio recording posted online by a prominent Russian lawmaker, Major General Ivan Popov, who led Russia’s occupation in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, lashed out at Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the commander of Russia’s invasion force in Ukraine. Popov blamed the men for mass deaths and injuries of Russian soldiers and blasted them for not supplying troops with enough weapons and ammunition.

Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov: “Our army has not been crushed from the front by the Ukrainian army, but has been attacked from the rear by our commanding officers. They traitorously and villainously beheaded the army in its most tense moment.”

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said publicly the Wagner Group had “no legal basis,” and said the private mercenary company’s legal status needs further consideration. The Pentagon says it believes Wagner forces are no longer participating in Russian military operations in Ukraine in any significant way, following Wagner’s failed June 23 revolt. The whereabouts of Wagner’s former leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, remain unknown.