Ukrainian minister Anton Gerashchenko has claimed that Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu had suffered a heart attack after a heated face-off with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where Putin accused him of failing his full-scale military operation in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian minister has said that this might be the reason why the defence minister, the man who is believed to be the second mastermind of the war, was not seen in the public since March 11. On March 24, the Russian defence minister was seen on television again. It is, however, not known whether the footage was new or old.
His disappearance has become the reason for many rumours that he has been punished by Kremlin for not yet capturing main Ukrainian cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv. Several reports have claimed that the issue was brought up at the daily press meet held by the Kremlin as reporters asked about where is the defence minister.
To which spokesperson of the Kremlin said, it is quite understandable that the defence minister is busy amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and it is not exactly the right time for media activities.
At the same time, the defence minister was seen in a clip of a security council teleconference with President Putin, where the minister was said to have reported progress in the special military operation.
As per the reports, “Shoigu was giving a report to the National Security Council on the military operation in Ukraine remotely. The broadcast footage, which interrupted a live interview, did not show Shoigu speak, but his image appeared among other video call participants reporting to President Putin.”