He shows his priorities. The new Russian Defense Minister, Andreï Belousov, an economist with no military experience, assured on Tuesday May 14 that he wanted to modernize the armed forces and achieve victory in Ukraine with “minimal human losses”.
“The key objective of the special military operation (in Ukraine) is of course to achieve victory […] and this with minimal human losses,” he declared, without specifying what level of losses would be acceptable and while Russia does not reveal the number of its dead and wounded. Since the start of the assault against Ukraine, in February 2022, many experts speak of several tens of thousands of Russian soldiers killed. The BBC and the independent media Mediazona for their part claim to have verified the death of at least 50,000 Russian soldiers.
Ukraine, for its part, regularly repulses waves of very deadly frontal attacks, such as, in recent days, during the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region (north-east).
“Optimize” military spending
On Tuesday, Andrei Belousov, whose appointment President Vladimir Putin confirmed the same day by decree, insisted on the fact that he wanted to “optimize” military spending. “The first (objective) is to ensure the integration of the economy of the armed forces into the entire economy of the country. This is not simple and requires optimization of expenditure […]. Which does not mean their decline,” he said.
Furthermore, assured Andreï Belousov, the authorities are not discussing a new mobilization “or any emergency measures” to increase the number of troops.
Speaking before the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian Parliament, he stressed that his second objective was to make “the military economy as open as possible to innovations”, in particular “to digital technologies”.
In the wake of his inauguration for a fifth term, Vladimir Putin carried out a surprise reshuffle in the field of defense on Sunday evening, after more than two years of conflict in Ukraine. He dismissed his loyal Defense Minister in place since 2012, Sergei Shoigu, to appoint him secretary of the Security Council, a body bringing together the highest Russian officials but without real prerogatives.
At the same time, a purge was initiated in this ministry against a backdrop of accusations of corruption, with the arrest of a deputy minister in April and that made public on Tuesday of General Yuri Kuznetsov, the head of human resources. The appointment of Andrei Belousov comes at a time when the military industry has become, with the assault on Ukraine and due to Western sanctions, the engine of the Russian economy.
Patrushev appointed advisor to Vladimir Putin
Furthermore, the Kremlin announced Tuesday that the former powerful secretary of the Russian Security Council and former head of the security services (FSB), Nikolai Patrushev, had been appointed advisor to Vladimir Putin. This person who has been close to the president for decades will be responsible for shipbuilding, a much less high-profile role.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov did not detail the reasons for Nikolai Patrushev’s withdrawal, assuring that his “enormous experience” would play “a big role” with regard to the shipyards issue.
As for Sergei Shoigu, he judged that speaking in his own case of a demotion was “not appropriate” because the secretary of the Security Council “is in direct contact with the head of state and has a great responsibility” .
Sergei Shoigu has been criticized over the past two years, first over the failure of the lightning offensive against Ukraine, then over supply problems for Russian troops and finally almost a year ago over of the revolt of the boss of the paramilitary group Wagner, who in particular occupied the army headquarters in Rostov-on-Don (southwest) and marched with his men on Moscow, before changing his mind.