After months of setbacks in its Ukraine offensive, the Kremlin launched an overhaul of the defence ministry's leadership in mid-2024, resulting in many high-ranking generals and officials being sacked, arrested and jailed.

On Friday, a military court in Moscow sentenced former defence minister Pavel Popov to 19 years in a high-security prison.

The court found Popov guilty of embezzling around 25 million rubles ($300,000) of state money earmarked for the construction of the Patriot military theme park.

The park outside Moscow regularly hosts shows and exhibitions to promote the army and houses a church dedicated to the military that glorifies battlefield victories.

Popov, 69, rejected the charges against him.

"He is not guilty on any of the charges brought against him," his lawyer Denis Sagach told AFP after the hearing, adding that his client had a "serious" health condition and that an appeal would be lodged.

Popov, who attended the hearing via videoconference, was also stripped of his rank and all state awards.

The Russian army has long been plagued by corruption scandals. But in recent years, many Russians have grown frustrated by the lavish lifestyles of high-ranking military officials while their troops fight in Ukraine.