Page 60 - RusRPTJun24

nomination of Mikhail Mishustin to return as prime minister, a sign that the Kremlin is banking on continuity and stability as it presses ahead with its full-scale war against Ukraine. Russia’s lower-house State Duma voted 375-0 in favor of his return to the role of prime minister, with the only sign of dissent coming from 57 members of the Communist Party, who abstained from the vote.
Putin proposes firing Shoigu, appoints new defense minister. Belousov was Russia's economy minister in 2012-2013, an aide to Putin in 2013-2020, and first deputy prime minister in 2020-2024
Russia holds Victory Day Parade in Moscow. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that over 9,000 military personnel and over 70 pieces of equipment were featured in the Victory Day parade.
Russia sets up display of captured Western military hardware in Moscow. According to BBC, more than 30 Western-made armored vehicles were on display, including a U.S. Abrams tank.
Putin’s inauguration ceremony has been almost universally shunned by EU politicians and few non-Europe VIPs will attend either. Czechia, Estonia and Latvia have confirmed that their representatives will not be attending Vladimir Putin's so-called inauguration on May 7. Diplomats from France, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Hungary and Slovakia will send diplomats to attend Putin's inauguration, according to the list published by Ukrayinska Pravda. No heads of state from Europe were in attendance.
The Ministry of Defense had already begun to clear the place before Belousov’s arrival. The military telegram channel “Rybar” (its author Mikhail Zvinchuk is even a member of the official working groups of the Ministry of Defense) reported that Shoigu’s deputy Ruslan Tsalikov wrote a letter of resignation. Tsalikov is the right hand of the former defense minister and has been working with Shoigu since 1994. And in the evening, several pro-war telegram channels immediately reported (the Baza publication found some indirect confirmation of this) about the detention of the next high-ranking official of the Ministry of Defense after Shoigu’s deputy Timur Ivanov, the head of the main personnel department, Yuri Kuznetsov. “Rybar” claims that Kuznetsov came under investigation for his previous work - before the personnel department, he headed the service for protecting state secrets. Late at night, official sources confirmed Kuznetsov’s detention on May 13.
In his first speech on May 13 Belousov says Russia must do more for its fighting men: In an address to the Federation Council’s Defense and Security Committee on Monday, Defense Minister nominee Andrey Belousov told senators that benefits awarded to soldiers fighting in Ukraine are insufficient. He praised the military for raising salaries and bonuses for servicemen but
60 RUSSIA Country Report June 2024 www.intellinews.com