Vladimir Putin’s war has plunged into a deeper crisis today amid reports that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has disappeared from view due to “heart problems.”
According to opposition media reports, he was not seen for 12 days, and his old footage and photographs were shown on television.
This came after it was revealed that Putin had started a witch hunt among his inner circle and became wary of close allies after the US and UK received information about his military plans.
Among those aroused suspicion was Shoigu, who is leading a bloody military operation in Ukraine that is believed to have killed more than 10,000 military personnel and massacred civilians.
His public appearances last week were significantly curtailed and his youngest daughter Kseniya, 31, was seen posing in the Ukrainian colors of blue and yellow.
On March 18, Shoigu, 66, was mentioned in a post on the Kremlin website saying that he and Putin had discussed “the progress of the special operation in Ukraine” with permanent members of the Security Council. But the video and pictures were not shown.
On the same day, Channel One aired a story about the presentation of awards to Shoigu, but the report used the same image as on March 11.
Earlier in the war, he was more prominent and often quoted. People around him said that he was ill – heart problems, a source close to the minister told the agency “Agency”.
Shoigu is considered one of Putin’s closest and most loyal allies.
However, tensions arose over waging war with him and other leaders of the army and security forces.
Last June, his sister Larisa Shoigu, 68, died of Covid.
Vladimir Putin began a witch hunt among his inner circle and became wary of close allies, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (pictured together), after the US and UK received information about his military plans.
Among those suspicious is Putin’s close ally Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (pictured together on vacation), who is leading a bloody military operation in Ukraine that is believed to have resulted in the deaths of more than 10,000 military personnel and mass civilian deaths.
Shoigu’s public appearances were significantly reduced last week, and his youngest daughter Ksenia, 31, was seen posing in the Ukrainian colors of blue and yellow (pictured).
The Russian president is looking for the “culprits” behind his stalled invasion of Ukraine and is said to be “outraged” that the US and UK have been privy to Moscow’s military tactics.
The leaks, which London and Washington handed over to Kiev, were blamed for making Russia’s top generals and elite forces such effective targets in Ukraine, the sources said.
Sources say that in private conversations, Putin has spoken disparagingly of longtime ally Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB’s security service, and has begun to lash out at meetings with Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Bortnikov was talked about as a replacement for the leader in the event of Putin’s fall in a coup.
Another target of Putin’s wrath is Igor Kostyukov, deputy chief of the Armed Forces General Staff, who could face imminent resignation as part of a wider purge.
Earlier, before the invasion, he publicly insulted the head of foreign intelligence of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin.
But Putin is reportedly more concerned about the military equipment losses he blamed on Gerasimov than the combat losses.
A loss of 50,000 men would be “nothing compared to the goals to be achieved after the victory,” he told his commanders.
Some believe he is planning a deal that he will market as a Ukrainian “surrender” and a “victory parade” in Moscow in early May.
“He is delighted that US and UK intelligence is all the time aware of the next move by the Russian army, from predicting an invasion to being ready to admit it,” one of the sources said.
Sources say Putin has been privately dismissive of longtime ally Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB security service, and has begun to lash out at meetings with Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov (pictured).
Another target of Putin’s wrath is Igor Kostyukov, deputy chief of the Armed Forces General Staff (pictured with Putin, first from left), who could face imminent dismissal as part of a wider purge.
Earlier, before the invasion, he publicly insulted the head of foreign intelligence of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin.
The loss of more than a dozen generals is seen as related to these real-time leaks of his movements in military operations.
Russian security expert Andrey Soldatov said that military counterintelligence is conducting an inspection in one of the units of the FSB security service.
During the invasion, the highest military officials of Russia were killed
- Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev
- Major General Vitaly Gerasimov
- Major General Andrei Kolesnikov
- Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky
- Colonel Nikolai Ovcharenko
- Colonel Sergei Porokhin
- Colonel Sergei Sukharev
- Colonel Andrei Zakharov
- Colonel Konstantin Zizevsky
- Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Agarkov
- Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov
- Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov
- Major Viktor Maksimchuk
- General Magomed Tushaev
- Captain Andrey Paly
- Captain Alexey Glushchak
- Colonel Alexey Sharov
“It could mean that finally people in Moscow started to wonder why US intelligence was so accurate,” he told The New Yorker.
“Military counterintelligence is mainly engaged in hunting for moles, identifying sources of leaks.
“It looks like now Putin is angry not only about bad intelligence and bad work in Ukraine, but also about the source of US intelligence about the invasion, and why US intelligence was so good before the invasion, and why the Americans knew so many things about what was coming. .
He also believes that Putin is blaming his subordinates for the “lack of popular support in Ukraine for Russian troops,” as if the locals should have welcomed the arrival of the occupiers.
He said Putin’s senior leadership was still too scared to tell him the truth.
“You now have so many people in jail, even from the FSB. So, if you think about it, from the point of view of a military general, is it really safe to tell Putin what he doesn’t like? I think it’s a big challenge for them.”
The atmosphere of fear means that intelligence about possible Ukrainian resistance to Russian occupiers has been hidden from Putin.
But Soldatov doesn’t expect his inner circle to try to assassinate Putin, despite growing hostility towards them.
“I think there is almost no threat to Putin now,” he told ZDF Heute in Germany. “He has two security services that are primarily responsible for ensuring that nothing happens to Putin personally.
“We know that he himself is a former intelligence officer who understands different risks. He often claims to have successfully survived 12 to 13 attempts on his life. In that sense, everything is safe for him.”
Russian security expert Andrey Soldatov (pictured) said military counterintelligence was investigating the FSB’s security department.
Russia fired conventional ballistic missiles against Ukraine (pictured damaged from a missile in Kyiv) amid warnings they could now use low-yield nuclear weapons.
Photographer Yevgeny Maloletka among the wreckage of an airstrike on the Azov State Technical University.
Russia’s advance has stalled on all fronts amid reports that Ukraine has launched counterattacks to push back Putin’s forces.