Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appears to be chairing an army meeting yesterday, attended by General Staff Valery Gerasimov, to discuss arms supplies. Oligarch aircraft detained ‘indefinitely’ in UK – latest updates Shoigu and Gerasimov are close allies of Vladimir Putin and are overseeing the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Image: Sergei Shoigu (L) and Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov (R) are both on the Western sanctions lists Prior to a video of a meeting between Putin and his Security Council on Thursday, Mr. Shoigu had not appeared in public since March 11. It is not known when this video was taken, although it was uploaded to social media today. Image: Russian officials appear to be looking down at the table during a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Photo: Ministry of Defense of Russia / Facebook Speculation has grown that amid reports that Russian officials may have been punished for the Ukrainian invasion because they failed to occupy areas such as Kyiv. This comes as Western officials claimed that a Russian commander had been killed by his own troops because of a large number of dead in their brigade. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:22 Air Force Marshal Philip Osborne says Russian forces could head east to Ukraine to establish themselves in the Donbas region. Read more: Russia hints reduction of invasion ambitions Other media outlets reported that the commander had just been injured. Silence suggests “operation did not go according to plan” Security and defense analyst Michael Clark said the recent silence by Mr Shoigu and Mr Gerasimov was significant. He said: “Their silence shows that this operation did not go according to plan, otherwise they would have given daily updates at the highest level. “The speculation is that they are ashamed and the credibility of the armed forces at higher levels can be questioned.” Image: Before a video of a meeting between Putin and his Security Council on Thursday, Mr. Shoigu had not appeared in public since March 11. Photo: Ministry of Defense of Russia / Facebook He added that before the invasion, neither Shoigu nor Gerasimov seemed comfortable in a video released with Putin giving them the goals of their campaign. The video from the Russian Ministry of Defense shows a group of officers in uniform sitting around a table and looking down as Mr. Shoigu speaks. None of the other soldiers speaks in the shots that were released. Follow the Daily Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker Why did not they appear in public? Responding to speculation about their whereabouts, the Kremlin said Mr. Shoigu was busy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said Shoigu had a lot on his plate and it was understandable that he did not spend much time on media appearances. An adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry also claimed that he had not appeared in public since mid-March because of a heart attack. Image: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (R) helps oversee the country’s invasion of Ukraine In a post on Facebook on Friday night, Anton Gerashchenko said that the Minister of Defense is undergoing rehabilitation at the hospital. Shoigu, 66, has been Russia’s defense minister since 2012 and is sometimes considered a possible successor to Putin in the Kremlin. Mr. Shoigu and Mr. Gerasimov are on sanctions lists from many Western countries, including the United States and Canada, in response to the invasion.
