Change of Russian Defence Minister is unlikely to affect course of war in Ukraine - British intelligence

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the UK Ministry of Defence on social media platform X.

Analysts note that Belousov is a professional economist with no military experience. He has served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation since January 2020, and before that was an economic aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"It is likely that he has been appointed to ensure greater efficiency in defence spending and to ensure closer coordination between defence industries and the needs of the Armed Forces," the report said.

Furthermore, this is likely to be an extremely difficult task for Belousov, given the high level of corruption in the Russian Defence Ministry and the Armed Forces.

"The change of Defence Minister is highly unlikely to have a major immediate impact on the prosecution of the Russian war in Ukraine. With Putin also announcing that there will be no changes to senior appointments in the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces the current Russian approach to the war is likely to continue," British intelligence believes.

As reported, on 15 May, Putin signed a decree appointing Andrei Belousov as Defence Minister, replacing long-time Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.