Russia’s Vladimir Putin has sidelined Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as the invasion of Ukraine enters its seventh month, according to a report issued Monday by the UK Ministry of Defence. Operational commanders now report directly to the Kremlin on progress in Ukraine, with Shoigu second in command. “Russian officers and soldiers with first-hand experience of the war probably regularly ridicule Shoigu for his ineffective and unknown leadership as Russian advances have stalled,” the UK wrote in its intelligence briefing. “Shoigu probably struggled for a long time to overcome his reputation of having no substantial military experience, having spent most of his career in the construction sector and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.” Shoigu, who hails from Russia’s Tuva region in southern Siberia, gained national popularity in the 1990s and 2000s as emergency minister by personally visiting the sites of natural disasters and terrorist bombings. UN NUCLEAR AGENCY TO VISIT BEIGGED UKRAINIAN POWER PLANT ‘IN NEXT FEW DAYS’ Putin chose him as defense minister in 2012 despite having no military background or combat experience. “If you look at who was in ministerial roles in 1999 and they are still there now, there are only two names: one is Shoigu, the other is Putin,” Dmitry Gorenburg, Ph.D., a Russian military expert, told Fox. News. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Shoigu in May and urged “an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine”, according to the Pentagon. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Putin ordered a troop surge of 137,000 to a total fighting strength of 1,150,000 last week in a bid to make up for losses after six months of war. Russian forces have captured almost all of Luhansk and are trying to gain control of Donetsk, which are the two regions that make up eastern Donbas. Fighting has also been concentrated around southern Ukraine in recent weeks, with an increased focus on Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. Fox News’ Bradford Betts contributed to this report, as well as The Associated Press. Paul Best is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @KincaidBest.
