Putin discharges Deputy Defense Minister Ostapenko - Kremlin
MOSCOW. Oct 10 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has relieved Col. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko of his duties as a deputy defense minister and discharged him from military service, the Kremlin press service reported on Thursday.
A source with Russia's space and rocket industry had told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday that Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) chief Vladimir Popovkin would be dismissed and Ostapenko appointed in the near future.
As for Popovkin's future, it was said a decision on it should be made at his meeting with the country's leadership in the near future.
It was reported earlier that Ostapenko was seen as the likeliest candidate for Roscosmos chief instead of Popovkin. The expected reshuffles in Roscosmos have been attributed to the space and rocket industry's restructuring, a plan of which Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin presented recently to President Vladimir Putin.
