Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has suddenly disappeared from the public space, journalists from the Russian independent online publications Mediazona and Aghentstvo, who broadcast by Telegram, claiming that he has not appeared in public for 12 days, the Ukrainian news agency reported on Wednesday Unian quoted by Agerpres.
Serghei Şoigu’s last public appearance dates back to March 11, when he had a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar.
On the same day, the Ministry of Defense released a video showing Shoigu visiting the Russian Army’s Central Military Clinical Hospital where he hands over decorations for soldiers wounded in fighting in Ukraine.
On March 18, Sergei Shoigu’s name is mentioned in a statement posted on the Kremlin’s website, which states that President Vladimir Putin has discussed with the permanent members of the Russian Security Council about “the progress of the special operation in Ukraine”.
On the same day, the Russian state television Pervii Kanal broadcast a report in which the Minister of Defense hands over decorations. The report states that the action took place “today”, but excerpts from the recording posted by the Ministry of Defense on March 11 are used in the material.
Shoigu usually strives to be in the media spotlight. Prior to this, the events in which he personally participated took place every few days.
Serghei Şoigu’s entourage says that he would not feel well and that he would have heart problems, an acquaintance of the Russian minister confessed to some Russian journalists, subject to anonymity.
Aghentstvo was unable to obtain immediate comment from the Moscow Ministry of Defense, as no press service telephone numbers were posted on the ministry’s website on Wednesday morning.
Moreover, according to the quoted sources, it seems that the head of the General Staff of the Russian army, Valeri Gherasimov, has not been seen in public in the last days. Since March 11, there has been no information about events involving Valeri Gherasimov. On that day, the official TASS news site posted news that Gherasimov had talks with his Turkish counterpart Yashar Guler.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and the conduct of what Moscow calls a “special military operation” on the ground reveals a failure of Russian command, according to Western military experts. On Wednesday, the Russian invasion entered its 28th day, but the Russian army did not conquer any of Ukraine’s major cities and suffered heavy losses, according to figures released by Kyiv, prompting Moscow to change its tactics and goes to war of attrition. This has led to intense bombing of civilian targets and an increase in the number of casualties among Ukrainian civilians.
Editor : D.C.
