Not much is going according to plan for Russia in Ukraine: the defense minister is trying to cover up the failures of his own army – but according to British intelligence, Shoigu is increasingly weakened. The question is how much longer he can stay in this position.
From the point of view of British intelligence, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is increasingly in a position of weakness. According to a report published in London, it is likely that officers and soldiers no longer take the minister seriously because of an ineffective and unrealistic leadership style.
Before being appointed minister, Shoigu spent most of his career in construction and other areas. He lacks military experience. In addition, the “special military operation,” as the war of aggression against Ukraine has to be called in Russia, is not going according to plan. Attempts by Shoigus to explain the Russian army’s sluggish progress in the Donbass are described by London as deliberate misinformation intended to cover up the military’s failure.
“Russia’s offensive has come to a halt due to poor performance by the Russian military and fierce Ukrainian resistance,” the British said in a statement last Friday. The Russian armed forces repeatedly failed to meet the deadlines set by Shoigu.
It is very likely that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Shoigu fired at least six generals because the advance was not fast enough for them, the statement said. The question is how many more layoffs there will be before Shoigu himself ends up on the Kremlin boss’s hit list.
Shoigu is considered a close confidante of the Russian President. He was supposed to modernize the Russian military by 2020, was given far-reaching powers and a multi-billion dollar defense budget. In January 2022, the Ministry of Defense stated that the “armament percentage”, i.e. the proportion of new military material, was over 70 percent. But the problems in the current campaign with outdated technology, logistical problems and poorly trained soldiers raise questions.
Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny provides clues as to where all the money could have gone: In April, his team reported on the riches of daughter Xenia Shoigu, who according to the report currently owns a loft and two apartments worth 8.2 million euros must. Shoigu himself is said to live in a villa in a Moscow suburb. Value: 21.7 million euros. The minister’s annual income in 2016 was officially 164,000 euros.
In addition to Shoigu, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov are also considered to be beneficiaries of the Kremlin connection. But Putin is known for his harsh treatment of companions who have fallen out of favor. Only in April did it become known that the former finance minister and deputy prime minister, Anatoly Chubais, had been taken to the emergency room with a sudden onset of neurological illness. Anti-Kremlin opponents believe a poison attack is the most likely explanation.