Unusual tones

Putin’s new man wants to keep losses low

Neo-defense minister and Putin specialist: Andrei Beloussov

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur)

The designated Russian Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov wants to win the war of aggression against Ukraine with the lowest possible losses among his own armed forces. This is the "key task", he said at a parliamentary hearing in Moscow on Tuesday. 

At the same time, the economic expert announced that there would be no new mobilization to recruit more soldiers. The Russian presidential office nominated Beloussov on Sunday as the successor to long-time Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The confidant of President Vladimir Putin is to become Secretary of the National Security Council. The 65-year-old Beloussov was previously Minister of the Economy and most recently First Deputy Prime Minister.

Beloussov to boost the arms industry
In view of the increase in military spending, Putin wants economic expertise at the head of the defense department, said presidential office spokesman Dmitry Peskov about the nomination. Operational military decisions are to be made by the army's General Staff.

Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov will remain the man in charge of operations.

(Bild: APA/AFP/SPUTNIK/SERGEI GUNEYEV)

During the parliamentary hearing, Beloussov emphasized that the unavoidable goal was to equip Russian soldiers with modern equipment, including drones and communication systems. This also includes the supply of sufficient ammunition. The Ministry of Defense's spending would be subject to more extensive controls in order to achieve greater efficiency. Putin has now established a war economy in Russia.

Unusual tones from the Kremlin
Beloussov's comments on minimizing casualties on the battlefields in Ukraine were considered unusual by observers. Russian state representatives do not usually talk about war casualties, except when it comes to glorifying fallen soldiers as heroes. Military experts point out that the Russian leadership has so far been far more willing to accept a high death toll during the war than the Ukrainian side. Russia rejects this impression as Western propaganda.

Beloussov presented himself as a politician of integrity during the hearing. He had always been guided by the principle "You can make mistakes, but you must not lie". This can be understood as a side blow to Shoigu, under whose direction there had recently been a corruption scandal in the Ministry of Defense.

Beloussov still has to be officially approved by the upper house. Like the designated interior, foreign and justice ministers, he was personally proposed by the Kremlin leader. Parliamentary approval is therefore considered a mere formality in authoritarian Russia.