Questions swirl over whereabouts of Russia’s defense minister
The Kremlin spokesperson declined to disprove the report by Agentstvo when asked by CNN. “I can’t. You shouldn’t listen to the Agenstvo media outlet. Please address [these questions to] the Ministry of Defense.”
Shoigu appeared in a Channel One broadcast on March 18 that the Russian outlet said was from that day, but Russian journalists have speculated that the event being broadcast was from March 11.State-owned TV channel Russia 24 broadcast footage on Thursday of a virtual meeting attended by Shoigu, but did not say when the meeting took place.
The anchor quoted Peskov suggesting Shoigu was giving a report to the National Security Council on the military operation in Ukraine remotely. The broadcast footage, which interrupted a live interview, did not show Shoigu speak, but his image appeared on screen among other video call participants reporting to Putin.
During a televised Security Council Meeting in Russia on March 11, Shoigu told Putin that its invasion of Ukraine was being carried out successfully, despite evidence to the contrary.Western leaders said at the time that Russia’s military had encountered unplanned obstacles and resistance.”All is going according to the plan, we report to you here every day this week,” Shoigu said.He also claimed that the Russian army had received more than 16,000 applications from volunteers in the Middle East wanting to join the war in Ukraine.The defense minister also asked Putin for more weapons to arm the separatist regions in Ukraine’s Donbas.
Russian military leaders, including Shoigu, have been stonewalling their US counterparts, declining calls since the invasion began, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement Thursday. He added that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark A. Milley, “have sought, and continue to seek, calls with their Russian counterparts. Minister Shoigu and General (Valery) Gerasimov have so far declined to engage.””We continue to believe that engagement between U.S. and Russian defense leaders is critically important at this time,” Kirby added.CNN has previously reported that the last known time Austin last spoke with Shoigu was on February 18. Milley last spoke to Gerasimov on February 11.
