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Mizintsev orchestrated the siege of the Ukrainian city of
Mariupol in the early months of the war last year. In September,
he was appointed deputy defence minister in charge of logistics
and supplies.
Imposing sanctions against Mizintsev last June, the European
Union referred to him as the Butcher of Mariupol and said he was
responsible for the "inhuman" siege of the shattered Ukrainian
city, which Russia says it is now rebuilding.
His departure was reported by a Russian military blogger,
Alexander Sladkov, and by the RBC news site. Neither offered an
explanation for why he had apparently been removed.
The defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request
for comment, while the Kremlin has said it cannot say anything
on the subject and has referred questions on the matter to the
defence ministry.
Russia has seized more than a sixth of Ukraine's territory, but
has sustained heavy losses in the course of the 14-month war. It
has achieved no significant gains since last July, while being
forced into major retreats around the cities of Kharkiv and
Kherson.
It is currently bracing itself for a Ukrainian
counter-offensive, while trying to take full control of the city
of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine after months of grinding warfare.
President Vladimir Putin has frequently reshuffled top military
figures without explanation, including in January when Valery
Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, replaced Sergei Surovikin
in overall charge of what Russia calls its "special military
operation".
(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by
Andrew Osborn)
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