Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has made some changes to his Cabinet on Sunday. He suggested replacing Sergei Shoigu as defense minister as he starts his fifth term as president.
According to Russian law, the whole Russian Cabinet quit on Tuesday after Putin’s impressive inauguration at the Kremlin. Most members are expected to stay in their jobs, but it’s unclear what will happen to Shoigu.
On Sunday, Putin chose Shoigu to be the secretary of Russia’s national security council. Putin suggested that Andrei Belousov should become the new defense minister instead of Shoigu. The appointment was announced soon after Putin’s proposal.
Belousov’s application has to be accepted by the upper part of the Russian parliament, called the Federation Council. On Sunday, it was reported that Putin suggested changes for other government jobs, but only Shoigu will be replaced as a minister. On Saturday, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who was reappointed by Putin on Friday, suggested a few new people for federal minister positions.
Timur Ivanov, who is the second in command to Shoigu, was arrested last month for taking bribes. He has to stay in jail until the investigation is finished. Ivanov’s arrest was seen as a possible sign that Shoigu could be fired, even though he is close to Putin.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin chose to appoint a civilian as the defence minister so that the ministry can be open to new and advanced ideas. Belousov, who was a deputy prime minister, is the best choice for the job.
Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior member at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said online that Shoigu’s new job in Russia’s Security Council means that the Russian leader sees it as a place to keep political power.
People like Dmitry Medvedev, who used to be the president of Russia, have been given roles in the security council. Medvedev has been the deputy chairman of the council since 2020.
“The Security Council is filling up with people who used to work closely with Putin and are still important to him, but don’t have a specific job. ” Stanovaya wrote on social media.
Shoigu has a new job. 12 people died and 20 got hurt in Belgorod. A building fell after Ukraine attacked.
In Ukraine, many more innocent people have run away from Russia’s new attack in the northeast of Ukraine. The attack used a lot of weapons like artillery and mortar to hit towns and villages. Officials talked about this on Sunday.
The intense fighting made a Ukrainian unit leave the Kharkiv region, giving up more land to Russian forces in the areas with fewer defenses along the Russian border.
On Sunday afternoon, the big town of Vovchansk became a key area in the battle. The head of the Kharkiv regional police said that Russian forces were getting close to the town from three directions.
“There’s fighting happening with the infantry already,” he said.
A big Russian tank was seen on a road heading to the town. This shows that Moscow is not worried and is ready to use strong weapons.
A group of journalists from the Associated Press, who were in a nearby village, saw big clouds of smoke coming from the town while Russian forces fired shells. Evacuation teams worked all day to help elderly residents get to safety.
At least 4,000 non-military people have left the Kharkiv region since Friday, when Moscow’s forces started their operation, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov wrote on social media. There were intense battles in the northeast, where Russian forces attacked 27 towns in the last day.
Experts believe that Russia is trying to take advantage of a lack of ammunition before the promised Western supplies can arrive at the front line.
Ukrainian soldiers said that the Russian government is using a common tactic of attacking with a lot of firepower and troops to tire out the Ukrainian army. Russian forces are fighting harder in a place where there wasn’t much fighting before, and they are trying to trap Ukrainian forces in the northeast. They are also fighting a lot in the south and are winning more territory there too.
Russia increased its attacks in March, focusing on energy infrastructure and settlements. Analysts believed this was done on purpose to prepare for an offensive.
At the same time, a tall apartment building in Belgorod near the border fell down a little bit, killing at least 12 people and hurting 20 more. Russian officials said the building fell down because of attacks from Ukraine. Ukraine has not said anything about the event.
The Russian military said on Sunday that they took control of four villages near the border with Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. They also said they captured five villages the day before. These places were probably not well protected because there was a lot of fighting and bombing, which made it easier for the Russians to move forward.
Ukraine’s leaders have not said that Moscow has made any progress. However, Tymoshko, the leader of the police in Kharkiv, said that Russian soldiers had taken control of Strilecha, Pylna, and Borsivika. They were using these areas to bring in infantry and launch attacks on other villages like Hlyboke and Lukiantsi.