In a major shakeup of the Russian military leadership, President Vladimir Putin has decided to transfer Sergei Shoigu from his long-held position as defense minister, multiple sources confirmed to the Associated Press on Monday.
The move comes amid widespread criticism over Russia’s floundering invasion of Ukraine and a string of battlefield losses and setbacks for Moscow’s forces. Shoigu, a close Putin ally, had served as defense chief since 2012.
The Kremlin has yet to officially announce the personnel change, but three senior Russian officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential leadership shift. They said Putin had lost confidence in Shoigu’s ability to lead Russia’s military after nearly 15 months of fighting in Ukraine failed to achieve the Kremlin’s stated objectives.
Shoigu, a 68-year-old army general, has faced withering condemnation within Russia over the poor planning and execution of the invasion, which was intended to achieve a swift victory when it began in February 2022. Instead, Russia’s forces suffered defeats on the battlefield as Ukraine’s military, aided by Western weapons, mounted an effective defense of their country.
One of the Russian officials said Putin had been weighing the move for months but waited until after Russia’s annual Victory Day celebrations on May 9th to minimize potential embarrassment around the symbolic World War II commemoration. The official said Putin signed the order transferring Shoigu over the weekend.
It’s unclear where Shoigu will be reassigned. Some reports suggest he may be moved to lead Russia’s aerospace agency, Roscosmos. For now, his deputy Dmitry Bulgakov will serve as acting defense minister.
Shoigu is the highest-profile leader to be dismissed by Putin over the invasion of Ukraine, though hardly the first. Russia’s intelligence chief and the previous commander of the invasion force were also fired last year after Russian troops initially stalled in their attack on Kyiv.
The personnel change comes at a pivotal moment in the war as Ukraine is expected to launch a major new counteroffensive in the coming weeks, after months of renewed training, ammunition stockpiling and military aid from Western allies. Ukraine says it intends to try to finally push Russia out of all occupied territories.
For Putin, the decision likely aims to shake up Russia’s military leadership and shift blame for the invasion’s shortcomings away from himself and onto others. Russian law requires the president to be commander-in-chief of the armed forces, putting the responsibility for final decision-making — and failures — onto Putin himself.
While considered one of Putin’s closest confidants for over two decades, many observers anticipated Shoigu’s dismissal as Russia’s defense chief given the growing public outcry within Moscow over the conduct of the invasion. A majority of Russians still support the war, according to recent polling, but an increasingly vocal minority has turned against the leadership and Putin himself.
Putin’s own future in the Kremlin could ultimately hinge on whether Russia can claim some sort of victory in Ukraine in the months ahead.
