Putin appoints relative in defense ministry shake-up

Putin appoints relative after firing four deputy defense ministers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sacked four deputy defense ministers Monday and appointed a relative to fill one of the resulting vacancies.

The reshuffle marked the latest stage in a radical shakeout which Putin launched in May when he unexpectedly removed his longstanding defense minister Sergei Shoigu.

More than two years into the war in Ukraine, Putin has used the changes to signal that he wants to clear out wastage and corruption in the ministry and harness Russia’s war economy more effectively to serve the needs of soldiers at the front.

In the latest changes, Putin sacked deputy defense ministers Nikolai Pankov, Ruslan Tsalikov, Tatiana Shevtsova and Pavel Popov, according to Kremlin decrees.

He appointed Anna Tsivileva, the daughter of his late cousin, as a deputy defense minister whose responsibilities will include improving social and housing support for military personnel. Her husband Sergei Tsivilev is Russia’s energy minister.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-relative-defense-ministry-rcna157660

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