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Russia’s Vladimir Putin has resigned as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as the invasion of Ukraine enters seven months, according to a report released by the UK Defense Ministry on Monday.
The operations commander is now briefing the Kremlin directly about developments in Ukraine, leaving Shoigu on the back burner.
“Russian officers and soldiers who experienced the war first-hand probably regularly mock Shoigu’s helpless and out-of-contact leadership as Russian progress stalled,” the UK wrote in an information update.
“Shoigu spent most of his career in the construction sector and in the Ministry of Emergencies, so he may have long struggled to overcome his reputation for lacking substantial military experience.”
Shoigu, who hails from the Tuva region of Russia, south of Sibera, gained national popularity in the 1990s and 2000s as the Minister of State for Emergencies, making direct visits to the sites of natural disasters and terrorist bombings.
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Putin chose him as defense minister in 2012, despite having no military or combat experience.
Russian military expert Dr. Dmitry Gollenburg previously told Fox that “he held the role of minister in 1999 and today there are only two names remaining: one is Shoigu and the other is Putin.” told. news.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Shoigu in May to urge an “immediate ceasefire in Ukraine,” according to the Pentagon.
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Putin last week ordered a sharp increase in the total combat strength of the military to 1,150,000 by 137,000 men to make up for losses after six months of war.
Russian forces have captured almost all of Luhansk and are seeking control of Donetsk, the two regions that make up eastern Donbass. Fighting has also coalesced around southern Ukraine in recent weeks, with growing interest in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Bradford Betts of Fox News contributed to this report and to The Associated Press.