LAST UPDATE: 12:29
The Russian defense minister appeared in public for the first time in two weeks, according to footage released today, following an absence that fueled speculation that the Kremlin was quick to dismiss.
The Ministry of Defense today released a video showing Soigu chairing a meeting on Russia’s armaments budget.
The plans do not have a date, but in this the minister refers to a meeting with the Minister of Finance which, according to the Russian news agencies, took place yesterday, Friday, March 25.
In the video, Soigu assures that the orders for the supply of equipment are made according to the program, “despite the difficulties we are facing today” due to the international sanctions imposed in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On Thursday, the Kremlin spoke of a conversation between the minister and President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of a report “on the development of the special military operation” during a meeting of the Russian Security Council, rejecting the questions raised by the protracted Soigo’s public absence in the midst of war.
The Kremlin had also rejected the minister’s health assessments.
“The Secretary of Defense has a lot to do at the moment (…) it really is not the right time for communication,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov.
Sergei Shoigu is a person with frequent TV appearances. Putin and he often appear together on trips to the Siberian taiga, at the wheel of a 4×4, drinking tea or picking mushrooms.
“He suffered a heart attack,” a Ukrainian official said
A spokesman for the Ukrainian government said today that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had suffered a heart attack after being blamed by the Russian president for the failure of the invasion to achieve its goals.
Anton Gerastshenko, who works at the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, wrote on Facebook that Shoigu, who has not appeared in public since March 11, suffered a medical stroke after a confrontation with Putin.
“Shoigu’s heart attack occurred after a harsh accusation by Putin of the complete failure of the invasion of Ukraine,” Gerastshenko was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
Shoigu has not appeared in public since March 11, fueling speculation about his whereabouts, while the Kremlin has been accused of forging a video showing him in a video call with Putin on March 24.
In footage released Thursday by the state-run RIA news agency, a picture of Soigo mysteriously appears in the upper-left corner of a split video screen set up in front of Putin as the Russian president addresses his Security Conference.
In the moments before Soigo’s picture appears, his screen is black and the picture shakes for a few seconds – despite the fact that all the other officials appear clearly on the screen from the beginning of the call. The clip did not contain any sound or show Shoigu speaking.
Source: Capital
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