Four Russian deputy defense ministers on Monday were dismissed from their roles by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who replaced one with what European Union officials are describing as a “close relative.”
The dismissal of defense deputies Nikolai Pankov, Ruslan Tsalikov, Tatiana Shevtsova and Pavel Popov follows April reports of bribery among multiple high-ranking ministry officials.
Putin dismissed former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in May.
Wire news reports indicate the dismissals are part of a military shakedown by Putin as part of an effort to strengthen Russian forces on the front lines in Ukraine. The last time the ministry saw a similar shift followed the February 2022 full-scale invasion.
The four people filling the vacancies include Anna Tsivileva, a daughter of Putin’s late cousin. Tsivileva previously headed a Russian state fund to support troops, a position that was also presidentially appointed.
The other newly appointed individuals are Pavel Fradkov, former deputy head of the presidential administration and son of former prime minister and foreign intelligence chief Mikhail Fradkov, former deputy economics minister Oleg Savelyev, and former high-ranking economic development official Leonid Gornin.
The removals come after Putin’s recent preconditions for peace talks with Kyiv, which demands Ukraine’s full withdrawal of troops from Russian occupied portions of the country.
Some information for this report came from Reuters and AFP.
