Putin to Punish Defense Minister Shoigu for Failing to Control 'Armed Rebellion'?

Responsibility Debate Over Failure to Handle Rebellion
Calls for Caution as Chaos May Worsen

Although the armed rebellion by the Russian private military company Wagner Group has ended, attention is focused on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will reprimand Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu for failing to control the situation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to major foreign media on the 25th, Prigozhin, who led the armed rebellion, frequently voiced criticism against Minister Shoigu. Some analyses suggest that this rebellion essentially stemmed from strong opposition to Shoigu's attempt to bring the Wagner Group under the control of the regular army and an intention to oust him.

However, there are criticisms that the Russian regular army responded poorly to this armed rebellion. The Wagner Group swiftly advanced to Voronezh Oblast, 500 km from Moscow, and Lipetsk Oblast, 350 km away, stopping their advance about 200 km outside Moscow. Given that the Wagner Group advanced nearly 1,000 km north relatively smoothly, some question the response plan of the Russian regular army. Moscow declared an anti-terrorism operation system and strengthened various security measures, but only by the afternoon of the day did they install machine gun batteries on the southwestern outskirts, showing a delayed reinforcement of defenses. The UK Ministry of Defence also reported in its daily intelligence briefing that some elements of the Russian regular army appeared to be "tolerating the Wagner Group and maintaining a passive stance."

However, it is analyzed that it would not be easy for President Putin to reprimand Minister Shoigu for this reason. In a situation where a counteroffensive by the Ukrainian army is expected to intensify, removing the overall commander could only increase confusion. Additionally, reprimanding Minister Shoigu could be seen as yielding to the demands of the rebel forces, which is also a concern. The British daily The Guardian reported rumors that Minister Shoigu has already been dismissed.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, said regarding Minister Shoigu's position, "That issue is the exclusive prerogative of President Putin according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation," adding, "It is unlikely that the topic of Minister Shoigu was discussed during contacts between Prigozhin and the Russian government."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.