Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has made his first public appearance since the Wagner Group’s armed insurrection this past weekend, which aimed to depose him and challenge President Vladimir Putin’s position as head of state.
In a video released by the Defence Ministry on Monday, Shoigu was shown addressing Russian troops. Although it is unclear where or when the video was recorded, its release has been interpreted as a purposeful signal from the Kremlin, as speculation about the fate of the country’s military commanders in the aftermath of the crisis was rife.
Shoigu’s First Public Appearance
According to the Defence Ministry’s TV channel, Zvezda, Shoigu, who appeared physically uninjured and calm, had listened to a briefing on the present situation on the front lines in Ukraine by Colonel General Yevgeny Nikiforov, the group’s commander.
During his visit, Shoigu heard about the construction of additional reserve troops for the “Zapad”( Russia’s West) military grouping and acknowledged the Russian army’s “high efficiency” in “detecting and destroying enemy military equipment and personnel accumulations in tactical areas.”
Shoigu assigned them to continue aggressive reconnaissance in order to identify the enemy’s preparations to obstruct Ukrainian forces’ operations further beyond the front lines.
The defence minister was the first top Russian official to be seen publicly since an apparent accord to stop the uprising — an unprecedented escalation of a long-running rivalry between Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Russian military.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared publicly since the #Wagner revolt: Russian media reported that Shoigu checked the forward command post of the Western troops in the special operation area. pic.twitter.com/A4QqBPiZVX
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 26, 2023
Wagner’s Uprising
On Friday, Prigozhin announced a “march of justice” to depose Shoigu, during which mercenaries conquered the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and marched towards Moscow.
Amid the insurrection, during which the Wagner forces obtained control of Russia’s military headquarters in southern Russia, renegade Prigozhin asked that Shoigu and General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov be turned over to him so that he could “restore justice.”
The uprising ended on Saturday when Prigozhin ordered his forces to return. The Kremlin announced an arrangement whereby the mercenary head and his soldiers would move to Belarus and be granted amnesty.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin proclaimed the end of the capital’s “counter-terrorism regime” on Saturday when troops with machine guns patrolled the streets and tore up roadways leading into the city.
Shoigu is the first of three major Russian leaders whose competing interests led to the Wagner Group capturing a Russian city and advancing on the capital since the uprising ended on Saturday. Since then, neither Putin nor Prigozhin have made any public statements.