‌Rob Lee (Twitter)

Some early thoughts. This doesn't appear to be designed as a demotion for Shoigu who not only received an important position as Secretary of the Security Council but also will retain oversight of domestic and foreign defense issues, taking that from the new Minister of Defense. Andrey Belousov's background is in economics, not defense, and he served as acting Prime Minister when Mikhail Mishustin contracted COVID-19. This may seem surprising, but Anatoly Serdyukov's background was in business and he served as Minister of Taxes before he was appointed Minister of Defense in 2007. At the time, Putin deliberately chose someone from outside of the MoD (Ministers of Defense in the 1990s were former generals) to enact a painful and unpopular reform. This choice is likely a reflection of Putin's personal trust in Belousov, and the need for a better internal manger of the MoD's bureaucracy. Although Gerasimov remains in his post, I would not be surprised if Belousov replaces him with someone more popular and to have a Chief of the General Staff who owes his position to him. The big loser in this shuffle appears to be Patrushev, who was also one of the key decisionmakers behind the invasion of Ukraine. Lastly, many of these officials have been in their positions for more than a decade, and there was clearly a need for changes. Shoigu and Gerasimov have been in their positions since 2012 and Patrushev since 2008.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@Hopoate_Fella: There have been a number of MoD videos of them together recently.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@OdessaBlogger: He would certainly be an interesting choice at this point. Teplinsky would be another option popular with the military.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

It will be interesting to see how many of the current deputy defense ministers remain in their posts, including Aleksey Krivoruchko who oversees military-technical support for the Russian military. Also notable that deputy defense minister Timur Ivanov was arrested two weeks ago.

‌Rob Lee (Twitter)

RT @francisjfarrell: My report from Vovchansk. Still trying to process everything we saw, heard, and felt, especially in the context of developments today.

The endless capacity of Ukrainians to endure and of Russians to destroy never ceases to shock me.

https://kyivindependent.com/civilians-flee-vovchansk-under-russian-bombardment-as-ground-offensive-on-kharkiv-begins

Def Mon (Twitter)

The Russians claim they are in Hatyshche, but there are no buildings matching that barn in Hatyshche. Just your normal Russian lies.
t.me/warriorofnorth/334

Rob Lee (Twitter)

Also notable that Alexey Dyumin, former FSO officer and commander of SSO, was not chosen as minister of defense. He is often mentioned as a candidate for a further promotion from governor of Tula but that hasn't occurred.

Def Mon (Twitter)

@AdmTaz114348 @justincbzz @14froger14: It's not a match

Def Mon (Twitter)

RT @GorillaOSINT: wagner guys who tried to kill shoigu at their new job seeing him get promoted

Def Mon (Twitter)

Wonder if she got tapped by FPV or tapped by Kadyrovite?
On a second thought, it has to be FPV, not enough legs.

Def Mon (Twitter)

@MyLordBebo: Explain this you donkey.

Def Mon (Twitter)

@Sheldon1Copper: There must be something wrong with his eyes. There are multiple things not matching that image.

Def Mon (Twitter)

@Sheldon1Copper: Explain this.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

Video of FPV strikes by the Ukrainian 42nd Mechanized Brigade's Perun group on Russian armor in Kharkiv Oblast. The 42nd Mechanized Brigade was also previously defending in the Chasiv Yar area.
https://www.facebook.com/42ombr/videos/805844588127282/
https://www.facebook.com/42ombr/posts/pfbid02cSUEHArTvQ5dB4K4pUhazXfeFEFqahabuMvFbKxUh5M1bNpLaLJRWBacvfCUk5TJl
https://www.facebook.com/42ombr/videos/1146173566506966 https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1789365079231610974#m