Vladimir Putin’s underfire Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was seen limping through a palace hall in Belarus today, months after the Kremlin denied he had suffered a heart attack.
The Russian defense minister – fictionally responsible for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – was seen limping at the Independence Palace in Minsk with his right hand in his pocket.
An explanation for his condition was not immediately given.
He joined Putin in Minsk, where the president visited his “close ally,” Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, for the first time in three years.
The Russian leader – himself reportedly suffering from health problems – took a small leap as he descended the stairs from his plane, where he was greeted by two women with bread and flowers before meeting Lukashenko.
Vladimir Putin’s underfire Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was seen limping through a palace hall in Belarus today
Shoigu walked past cameras with his right hand in his pocket at the Palace of Independence in Minsk
One of Putin’s security guards appeared to be carrying a briefcase with a protective vest. According to reports, the President is constantly accompanied by cancer doctors when he travels.
The Russian head of state was also accompanied on the visit by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Putin’s visit for talks with the Belarusian president will focus on deepening his ties with Belarus at a time when his army is struggling to invade Ukraine.
The Kremlin has for years tried to deepen integration with Belarus, which relies on cheap oil and credit from Moscow, but Lukashenko has so far resisted direct union with Russia despite being a key ally in the war.
In April, rumors of Shoigu began to swirl when he appeared missing, with some suggesting the general had suffered a “massive heart attack” – a claim later disputed by the Kremlin.
Some sources said he was marginalized by the president over Russia’s wartime failures, while a leading Putin enemy claimed he suffered a heart attack that had no natural causes.
Exiled business tycoon and Putin enemy Leonid Nevzlin, 62, claimed the shogun was “out of the game” after suffering a “massive heart attack”.
Mystery surrounded Shoigu in April when some claimed he had suffered a “massive heart attack” – a claim the Kremlin has dismissed
Russian President Vladimir Putin today met with dictator Alexander Lukashenko on a rare visit to Belarus
“He’s in intensive care and connected to equipment,” he claimed at the time, citing his own sources in Moscow at the time.
Other reports said Putin ordered him to operate from a nuclear bunker in the Urals.
Earlier this year there were also allegations that Shoigu was “marginalized” by Putin and constantly taunted by his own soldiers, the UK Ministry of Defense revealed.
The Defense Ministry said in August that the veteran politician, who held the defense post for ten years, was no longer the leader’s confidant and ally that he had previously been.
Russia’s failure in Ukraine, after suffering huge losses in personnel and equipment, without making major inroads into the country, resulted in its ousting from Putin’s inner circle.
In August, the Defense Ministry said the veteran politician, who held the defense post for ten years, was no longer the leader’s confidant and ally that he had previously been
The chief of the Russian military no longer informs Putin directly, instead the Russian leader is kept informed by operational commanders, the report said.
The Defense Ministry said on August 29: “Recent independent Russian media reports have claimed that the problems Russia is facing in its war against Ukraine have left Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on the sidelines within the Russian leadership while operational commanders inform the President Putin directly on the course of the war.
“Russian officers and soldiers with first-hand war experience are likely to routinely taunt Shoigu for his ineffective and out-of-touch leadership as Russian progress has stalled.
“Shoigu has probably long struggled to overcome his reputation for lacking substantive military experience, having spent most of his career in the construction sector and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.”
Shoigu, whose mother was born in Ukraine, worked in construction before becoming a minor official in his regional communist branch.
He was then appointed Deputy Chairman of the State Architecture and Construction Committee of the Russian Federation and later Minister of Emergency Situations in 1991, earning him the honorary title of General.
He became defense minister in 2012 and has long been considered a trusted Putin lapdog alongside Sergei Lavrov.