What Putin is preparing for, replacing Shoigu as head of the Ministry of Defense

Changes have occurred in Russia leadership of the Ministry of Defense. Economist Andrei Belousov became the new head of the department, and ex-minister Sergei Shoigu was given the post of Secretary of the Security Council.

Military Observer from Israel, David Sharp told 24 Channel that Belousov is expected to reorganize the Ministry of Defense. During Shoigu’s time, corruption flourished there, in particular, as shown by the arrest of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov.

Putin has 2 options

It is now obvious that Russia is stuck in a long war. She wanted to “take Kyiv in 3 days,” but it happened completely differently.

Putin understands that it is impossible to jump out of the war without victory, so that it does not look like his defeat, because for him it will mean death. Then there are 2 options left:

• play for time and fight, at least without losing;
• to win something in order to jump off looking like a “winner”. This process can be long, so many problems will have to be solved.

Therefore, we can call the appointment of Belousov as Minister of Defense preparation for a long war, or perhaps increasing efficiency,” noted the military observer.

Has a different calling

At the same time, the appointment of a new Minister of Defense coincided with an active Russian offensive in the north of the Kharkov region. However, Sharpe does not connect these two events.

There is no need to look for special patterns here. The so-called “elections” of Putin took place, and after that the Russian government was supposed to change. This process was brought about by personnel changes and the Ministry of Defense, he explained.

Shoigu was not a military man, just like Belousov. However, the Minister of Defense does not participate in planning military operations and in commanding the front – these are the functions of the General Staff.

Minister of Defense has another callingto be responsible for increasing the efficiency of everything related to his department, the military-industrial complex, the transition of the economy to a “war footing” and the like.

“Therefore the change of leadership of the Ministry of Defense is not connected with the Russian offensive in the Kharkov region. This is probably a coincidence of circumstances,” noted David Sharp.

What changes have occurred in the Russian government

• On the evening of May 12, it became known that Sergei Shoigu was dismissed from the post of Minister of Defense and appointed Secretary of the Security Council. At the same time, economist Andrei Belousov, who was the first deputy head of the Russian government, became the new minister.
• At the same time, Shoigu took over the post of Secretary of the Security Council, which was held by Nikolai Patrushev. He left her due to a “transition to another job.”
• However, Nikolai Patrushev’s son, Dmitry, went for a promotion. He served as Minister of Agriculture, and now also became Deputy Head of Government. By the way, Dmitry was being groomed as Putin’s successor, but this topic is no longer discussed on the political sidelines.