Russian President Vladimir Putin has replaced his defence minister, Sergei Shoygu with economist Andrey Belousov.
According to the US State Department, this comes as a sign of desperation from the Kremlin.
“Our point of view is that this is further indication of Putin’s desperation to sustain his war of aggression against Ukraine, despite it not just being a major drain on the Russian economy and heavy losses of Russian troops, with some estimates as high as 315,000 casualties.
“The Kremlin’s mobilization of its war of aggression against Ukraine has caused so many families in Russia to suffer. And Russia started this unprovoked war against Ukraine. Putin could end it at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine instead of continuing to launch brutal attacks on the Ukrainian people every day.” US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said at Monday’s press briefing.
Andrey Belousov is a Russian economist and politician. Belousov previously served as First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from January 2020 to May 2024. He was an Economic Assistant to the President of Russia and Minister of Economic Development.
He is considered a Keynesian economist who believed in state intervention in the economy.
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