Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin started a rebellion in Russia demanding a change of military leadership. Šoigu, who has now become the target of Prigožin and has remained out of the public eye for a long time, comments on the recession crisis.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu commented on Monday in a remote meeting organized by the Ministry of Defense for the first time about the rebellion started by the mercenary company Wagner.
– I will comment on the next question only briefly, because the commander-in-chief of the armed forces [Vladimir Putin] has already given fundamental answers on the subject. We will of course talk on the 23rd-25th. about the attempt seen in June to destabilize Russia, Šoigu said at the meeting.
– The plans in question failed mostly because the armed forces showed loyalty to the oath they took and to serving their country. The provocation did not affect the actions of our soldiers in Ukraine. They bravely continued to perform their duties. I thank the personnel of our army for their conscientious work.
At the meeting, Shoigu also gave an update on the state of the “special operation” underway in Ukraine. Special operation is the name used by the Russian authorities for the war of aggression launched in Ukraine.
– Our weaponry continues to effectively damage the enemy, greatly reducing their offensive potential.
According to Shoigu, Russian forces have managed to destroy 15 Ukrainian aircraft, three helicopters and 920 armored vehicles, including 16 Leopard tanks, in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions alone.
– Since the beginning of June, Ukraine has lost more than 2,500 different weapon systems. In addition, Russia’s air defense has repelled 158 HIMARS and 25 Storm Shadow missiles in the last month, as well as destroyed 386 unmanned aerial vehicles, Šoigu claims.
The Minister of Defense continued his grand speeches by claiming that Ukraine has not achieved its goals on any front. According to Šoigu, this indicates the competence of the Russian soldiers, as well as too high expectations regarding the praised Western weapons.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi admitted on Monday that last week had been difficult. At the same time, he expressed faith in the forces and supporters of Ukraine.
– We continue to progress one step at a time. I want to thank all the defenders of Ukraine and those who lead this war towards the victory of Ukraine, Zelenskyi says in his published statement.
In addition to reviewing the situation and commenting on Wagner’s recent attempted rebellion, Šoigu focused on promoting the message of smearing Ukraine and the Kremlin’s propaganda machine. For example, he claimed that the Ukrainians, who have suffered significant losses, continue to attack mostly at the behest of Western leaders. Russia has long tried to create an image of Ukraine as a country ruled by a puppet government led by Western Nazis.
In addition, Šoigu claims that the Kyiv regime is trying to compensate for its poor military success by carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian targets. In reality, since the beginning of the war of aggression, Russia has itself repeatedly struck civilian targets in Ukraine. According to an estimate presented by the UN in June, more than 9,000 civilians have died in the war, and in addition there are at least 15,000 injured.