MOSCOW, June 30 (UPI) -- Russia's Baltic Fleet of warships lost its two top leaders in a sweeping dismissal of officers by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Adm. Viktor Kravchuk, commander of the Baltic Fleet, and the Fleet's chief of staff, Sergei Popov, were among 50 high-ranking naval leaders dismissed from their positions after the fleet was subjected to a month-long inspection that ended June 10. The inspection noted incompetence, deficiencies in training and misinformation regarding the state of the fleet.