Dmytro Sniehyriov, military expert and co-chair of the Prava Sprava NGO, shared his opinions with Espreso TV.“Putin is panic-stricken at the prospect of a new Lebed or Rokhlin — people from the military who could realistically lead opposition to the current regime. I’ll explain why these purges began. Recently, a ‘procession’ took place in Moscow that seriously alarmed the Russian security services and, consequently, the Russian leader. Many people attended, but the core was made up of so-called ‘special military operation’ veterans and nationalist organizations,” Sniehyriov commented.In his view, it was clear that there was a coordination center that effectively demonstrated to the existing regime the real potential for organizing such events. Most likely, this led to personnel changes.“I monitor Russian public channels, where they try to portray Lapin as the person responsible for the failures in the Kursk direction. I want to remind everyone that Lapin commanded Russian troops at the start of the full-scale invasion and introduced the concept of ‘small cauldrons,’ which he demonstrated in the Luhansk region. After capturing several industrial centers in Luhansk region, Lapin was awarded the title Hero of Russia, meaning he has authority in the troops, which may have been the primary reason for the decision to dismiss him,” the military expert noted.Aleksander Lapin: backgroundAlexander Lapin had been the commander of the Central Military District forces since November 22, 2017. He notably led the capture of Ukraine's Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, which suffered heavy bombardment by the occupying Russian forces during the assault.After the successful Ukrainian Armed Forces offensive in the Kharkiv region and the liberation of Lyman in Donetsk region, Lapin came under harsh criticism from Putin ally and Chechen strongman Kadyrov, who called for the general’s removal from command. Prigozhin, deceased leader of the Wagner PMC, publicly agreed with Kadyrov.The Wall Street Journal reported that a few months before the Ukrainian advance in the Kursk region, Russian Army General Alexander Lapin disbanded the regional defense council, creating a gap in the border defenses that the Ukrainian Armed Forces exploited.On September 21, 2025, it became known that Russia had dismissed Colonel General Alexander Lapin, who headed the Center and North army groupings of the Russian army.