‘Very bad news for us’: how will the replacement of Shoigu with Belousov as the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation affect Ukraine?

The appointment of Andrey Belousov as the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation is “very bad news” for Ukraine, according to Ukrainian economist Alexey Kush.

He expressed this opinion on Facebook.

According to him, now “everything is moving towards a sharp increase in the dynamics of the Russian military-industrial complex and the expansion of military production in Russia.” Kush believes that Belousov played a role “in creating a model for the growth of the Russian economy, deep structural transformations, and adaptation to sanctions.”

“For us, this is very bad news because our ministerial positions are held by opponents of Belousov’s policies with a vulgar liberal agenda during the war. You can assess the results for yourself,” the economist wrote.

Recall that the day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed appointing Andrey Belousov as the Minister of Defense. This was reported by the press service of the Federation Council in its Telegram channel.

“The Federation Council has received from the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, proposed candidates for the positions of heads of several federal ministries and agencies. For consultations, the following have been proposed: <…> for the position of Minister of Defense – Andrey Belousov,” the statement said.

Sergei Shoigu, who held this position, will assume the post of Secretary of the Security Council. Nikolai Patrushev, who worked in this position, was dismissed by Putin’s decree “in connection with a transfer to another job.” In addition, Shoigu will simultaneously serve as Putin’s deputy in the Military-Industrial Commission of the Russian Federation.