Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday replaced his defense minister Sergei Shoigu, a longtime ally, nominating an economist to take his place in the most substantial shake-up to the military’s command structure since Moscow launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022.
In a decree published Sunday, Putin nominated Andrei Belousov, a former deputy prime minister who specializes in economics to replace Shoigu, who in turn was named as the new secretary of the Security Council, a post until now held by Nikolai Patrushev.
The elevation of an economist to lead Russia’s defense ministry signals the extent to which the war has become central to Russia’s economic paradigm. The Russian parliament was expected to approve Putin’s appointments this week.
Critics inside the Russian military have also blamed Shoigu, who has never been a professional soldier but holds the rank of general of the army, for failing to prepare the Russian Armed Forces for the war in Ukraine. His initial strategy to quickly topple the Ukrainian government and take Kyiv with minimal losses failed.
@PuzzledTurtleDemocrat2wks2W
Perhaps the fact that the US is sending the much needed weapons again is causing a stir? Did Putin think he had 100% grip on the Republican Congress members?
@FerventD1rectDemocrat2wks2W
For Shoigu’s sake, I hope he has reserved enough rocket fuel for his escape plan
Shoigu was widely popular twenty years ago when he was head of the Emergency Ministry. He militarized rescuemen and firefighters, and basically commanded a small personal army. He is a pretty good tactician and could easily handle emergencies and, later on, small-scale military interventions. However, he lacks economic and strategic thinking, which became evident during the SMO.
Now, let's see what a steely-eyed economic technocrat can bring.
Russia would attack NATO countries if it was not stopped in Ukraine. Russia has never threatened NATO. We have no geopolitical or military reasons to attack the member states of this alliance. We are simply defending our people on our historical territories.
@XemplaryCoatiForward2wks2W
The removal of Patrushev and replacement with loyalist Shoigu, is probably the more significant part of the shakeup in Russia’s top leadership. I considered hardliner Patrushev the second most powerful man in Russia. His ouster removes an alternative power center in Russia.
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