“A difficult situation emerged with senior leadership, where I had to either shut up and make peace with that, and tell them what they wanted to hear, or say things as they are,” Popov said.

“I, in your name, in the name of our dead friends, our fighters, couldn’t lie. So, I, identify all the problems which exist,” Popov said.

The voice message was posted to Telegram by Russian politician and former military commander Andrey Gurulyov. It was not immediately clear when it was recorded.

In the message, Popov accused the military of failing to deploy adequate resources to counter the Ukrainians.

“The lack of counter-battery combat, the absence of artillery reconnaissance stations and the mass deaths and injuries of our brothers in enemy artillery fire,” Popov said.

He also accused Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of submitting to pressure to push him out of his post.

“The senior chiefs apparently sensed some kind of danger from me and quickly concocted an order from the defense minister in just one day and got rid of me,” Popov said.

In a potential jab at Shoigu’s leadership, he added that “the armed forces of Ukraine couldn’t break through our army on the frontline; we were hit from behind by our highest boss, treacherously and vilely.”

Kremlin allies accused Gurulyov of using Popov’s statement as a “political show.”

In a Telegram message, Andrei Turchak, of the United Russia Party said the fact that “Gurulyov somehow got hold of this and made a political show out of it remain on his conscience.”

The release of the message comes in the wake of a March on Moscow by the Wagner mercenary group, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, said demands by Shoigu to have the group sign contracts with the Russian military prompted the brief revolt.