Medvedev fires several Army generals for tragic explosions

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has fired several high-ranking military generals over a series of blasts at an arms depot in the Russia's region of Ulyanovsk earlier this month, which killed 10 people and injured many.

''Unfortunately, this was possible because of the lack of control from the Defence Ministry leadership and criminal negligence by those responsible for destroying old ammunition at the navy arms depot,'' Mr Medvedev told reporters during a visit to Ulyanovsk, where he held a meeting with Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov in expanded format.

Two fire-fighters died when a chain of ammunition explosions ripped through the Navy arsenal in Ulyanovsk, 800 km east of Moscow on November 13. Eight more were killed at the depot 10 days later when shells exploded during a clear-up operation.

Mr Medvedev instructed the Defence Ministry to dismiss and impose other measures of disciplinary liability in respect of other responsible people from the Ministry's central office and the Volga-Urals Military District, the Kremlin press service said.

The President said he had dismissed from military service the heads of the Defence Ministry's engineering and artillery departments and a deputy regional commander. He ordered Mr Serdyukov to sack the head of Depot 31, where the blasts took place.

''The quality of storing ammunition should be checked, and I order the Defence Minister to conduct a complete review. I give you one month,'' he said, standing next to Mr Serdyukov.

Mr Serdyukov is aiming to reform the armed forces into a mobile force capable of fighting in modern conflicts.

The meeting was attended by Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Volga Federal District Grigory Rapota, Ulyanovsk Region Governor Sergei Morozov, head of Armed Forces Armament Vladimir Popovkin, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, and Chief Military Prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky.

-- (UNI) -- 25DF16.xml

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