Poisoned Shoigu?: Wild Rumors About Russian Ministers

The British Daily Mail wrote that Shoigu was the victim of an assassination attempt, citing the Russian-Israeli businessman Leonid Nevzlin. He claims the 66-year-old is in intensive care because he had an “acute heart attack”, which, however, “could not happen normally”.

Shoigu may have been poisoned after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plan to take over Ukraine failed within days. “Shuigo is helpless, and if he survives, he may be disabled,” Newslin quoted the Daily Mail as saying. No evidence has been provided for this, but Putin’s opponent, who lives in exile in Israel, is said to have close contacts with Russia.

Connection failed by USA

According to the British newspaper The Sun, Anton Gerichenko, an employee of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, wrote on Facebook that Shoigu had a heart attack after a confrontation with Putin. Other rumors state that Shoigu’s disappearance was because Putin ordered him to operate from a remote nuclear bunker in the Urals.

None of these claims have been independently verified. But the US Department of Defense did not say on Thursday that the US attempt to contact Shoigu had recently been unsuccessful. In the effort less than a week ago, Russia showed no interest in the talks, a Pentagon spokesperson said.

They allegedly arrested 20 generals

Nevzlin also claimed that 20 Russian generals were arrested and charged in Russia. According to him, it was said that they embezzled up to ten billion dollars that were available to Putin to prepare for the blitzkrieg in Ukraine. According to Nevzlin, “the entire headquarters” has been placed under house arrest since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

This, in turn, would explain the very poor equipment of many Russian units in Ukraine, according to the Daily Mail. If Nevzlin’s allegations prove true, then suspicions of a wide-ranging rift between Putin and senior members of the Russian military and security services will be confirmed.

According to Western intelligence services, Putin was misleading about the situation in Ukraine. “We agree with the conclusion that Putin has not been fully briefed by his Department of Defense over the past month,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in late March.

The Kremlin denies speculation

Shoigu’s temporary disappearance in recent weeks has raised questions about his relationship with Putin. The Kremlin, in turn, tried to nip the rumors about Shoigu in the bud and published some videos showing the minister. But it should be about pre-recorded material. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the reason for his absence was that the defense minister “has a lot to do at the moment”.

Shoigu was appointed defense minister in 2012 and was considered Putin’s right-hand man for many years. The joint summer vacation with bear hunting in Siberia is also legendary because of the images that were produced. On February 24, 2022, under the leadership of Shoigu, the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. He has not appeared in public since March 11.

Everything Putin touches dies.

Before fleeing to Israel, Nevzlin was a senior executive at the Russian oil company Yukos, which Putin had smashed. In 2008 he was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment. The former oligarch has repeatedly called Putin a “psychopath,” and last month announced that he would return his Russian passport and declared that “everything Putin touches dies.”