US State Department on Shoigu's replacement: Putin desperate to continue war against Ukraine

The US Department of State has commented on the dismissal of Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and his replacement with Andrei Belousov.

US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel stated that the reshuffle in the Russian Ministry of Defence shows that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin wants to continue his war of aggression against Ukraine.

"Our point of view is that this is further indication of Putin’s desperation to sustain his war of aggression against Ukraine, despite it not just being a major drain on the Russian economy and heavy losses of Russian troops, with some estimates as high as 315,000 casualties," the State Department spokesman said.

Patel added that Putin could have ended the war at any time by withdrawing his troops "instead of continuing to launch brutal attacks on the Ukrainian people every day."

Putin replaced Shoigu with Belousov as the defence minister on 12 May. At the same time, Shoigu will take over as the Secretary of Russia’s Security Council instead of Nikolai Patrushev.

Commenting on the Kremlin's personnel rotations, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said that new Russian Defence Minister Belousov would be another of Putin's "puppets".

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda is convinced that the replacement of the defence minister is linked to the Russian regime's desire to continue its war of aggression against Ukraine.