Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu’s disappearance is reported In Russia
ROMAN PETRENKO - WEDNESDAY, 23 MARCH 2022, 10:26
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has not appeared in public since 11 March, so he has not been seen for 12 of the 28 days of war in Ukraine, Russian media reported.
Source: Russian investigative journalists from Mediazona and Agentstvo
Details: Journalists note that Shoigu has not appeared in public since 11 March.
Shoigu is usually very active in the media. With his arrival at the Ministry of Defence, the number of staff in the press service increased sharply and the agency began to pay a lot of attention to its public image.
Agenstvo reports that until 11 March, Shoigu used to appear in the news almost every day.
Within Shoigu's entourage there is talk of him not being in good health - he has heart problems, an acquaintance of the minister told the newspaper.
It is known that the last time the head of the Russian Defence Ministry appeared in the news was on 11 March. There is a video in which Shoigu presents state awards to occupiers of Ukraine who took part in the "special military operation".
On 18 March, Shoigu was mentioned in a statement on the Kremlin's website which said that President Vladimir Putin had discussed "the progress of the special operation in Ukraine" with the permanent members of the Security Council. According to the report, Shoigu was present at the meeting. No videos or photos from the meeting were published.
According to journalists, on the same day, 18 March, Channel One aired a story about Shoigu presenting awards. The story said that the event happened "today", but the picture in the story is identical to a video posted on the Ministry of Defence website on 11 March.
The latest news in Shoigu's profile on the Defence Ministry's website is also dated 11 March.
According to investigators, Shoigu is not the only person who has disappeared. Since 11 March, no events have been reported that were attended by Russian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov.
It will be recalled that according to Ukrainian intelligence, the only people in positions of power in Russia who support the war in Ukraine are Putin and Shoigu.
