Jakarta –
Defense Minister Russia Sergei Shoigu ‘reappeared’ in a television program broadcast on Saturday (26/3). The appearance of Shoigu seems to answer various speculations about him after two weeks of not being seen in public.
The Russian Ministry of Defense (Kemenhan) published a video showing Sergei Shoigu chairing a meeting on Russia’s defense procurement. There is no date attached to the video but the footage refers to a meeting of the Ministry of Finance which Russian news agencies reported took place on Friday (25/3).
In the broadcast, Shoigu said orders and supplies of weapons were proceeding as planned “despite the difficulties we have today from Western sanctions” imposed after President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24.
Shoigu, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has stayed away from the public and media attention in recent times despite playing a major role in Russia’s month-long invasion of Ukraine. It is known that Shoigu has not been seen in public since March 11, before he briefly appeared in a video that Putin released on Thursday (24/3) yesterday.
A report by Russia’s independent investigative outlet Agentstvo, citing anonymous sources from the Russian Defense Ministry, on Wednesday (23/3) local time said Shoigu was in poor health.
On Saturday (26/3), the Ministry of Defense denied reports that Shoigu had suffered a heart attack and was in hospital. In the Telegram message, the Ministry of Defense said that reports saying that Shoigu is currently recovering at Moscow’s Burdenko military hospital is “obviously fake”.
Watch the video ‘Russia Announces First Phase of Military Operation in Ukraine Achieved!’:
(izt / dhn)
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