A Russian general who was recently appointed to a position in charge of border security may have inadvertently laid the groundwork for Ukraine’s successful incursion into the Kursk Oblast, according to a report.

Earlier this year, Col. Gen. Alexander Lapin dissolved an interagency council in charge of border security, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The council brought together military officers with local and regional security, but Lapin argued that only the military had the resources to defend the border—and that other agencies need not be involved in the process.

It's not the first blunder for Lapin. The general previously drew criticism for his role in the Russian retreat at Lyman—an early defeat for the Russian army at a strategic city in the Ukrainian region of Donbas.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya and a close Putin ally, publicly lambasted Lapin for the defeat at Lyman. “I would demote Lapin to private, strip him of his awards and send him to the front lines with a machine gun.”