Putin promotes 'cousin' in latest military shake-up – Moscow Times

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday appointed a woman West described as his “close relative” to a top defense ministry post as part of an ongoing reshuffle of Russia's military leadership.

The appointment comes after Putin last month ousted his longtime defense chief, Sergei Shoigu, and replaced him with economist Andrey Belousov, and arrested several high-ranking military figures on corruption charges.

Analysts said the purge at the top of Russia's defense establishment was a sign that Moscow believes it can defeat Ukraine on the battlefield by outspending and outlasting Kiev and its Western backers.

The Kremlin also wants tighter controls on massive military spending, they said.

Putin issued a decree on Monday replacing four deputy defense ministers.

He named among their replacements Anna Sivilyova, the alleged daughter of his cousin, and Pavel Fradkov, son of his former spy boss and prime minister.

Britain hit Sviliova with sanctions in 2022, citing her as “Putin's first cousin once removed” and the European Union listing her as a “close relative” of Putin.

He headed a major coal company and a government-backed fund to support the families of soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

In the Ministry of Defence, he will oversee social welfare and benefits for soldiers.

Fradkov was a senior official within Putin's presidential administration and is the son of Mikhail Fradkov, who headed Russia's foreign intelligence service for nearly a decade and was one of Putin's prime ministers in the 2000s.

Leonid Gornin, a former finance ministry official, has also been appointed first deputy defense minister.

The changes are part of the biggest overhaul of Russia's defense ministry since sending troops to Ukraine in February 2022.

It comes with the advance of Russian forces on the battlefield and demands for a full Ukrainian withdrawal from the south and east of Ukraine as a precondition for peace talks.

These demands were rejected by Kiev as a regional “ultimatum” reminiscent of Adolf Hitler.

At a major diplomatic summit in Switzerland over the weekend, Kiev won support for the principle that any peace deal with Russia should respect its “territorial integrity”, although several major countries refused to back that call.