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Moscow: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu chaired a meeting to discuss the military budget in his first public appearance in two weeks, according to scenes broadcast on Saturday, after an absence that led to speculation about him that the Kremlin has striven to refute.
On Saturday, the Defense Ministry released a video recording showing Shoigu presiding over a meeting devoted to discussing Russia’s defense budget.
The scenes are not attached to any date, but the ministry referred to a meeting that Shoigu had with the Minister of Finance, which Russian agencies reported took place on Friday, March 25.
In the video, the minister confirms that orders for arms and supplies are going as scheduled “despite the difficulties we are currently facing” as a result of international sanctions imposed in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On Thursday, the Kremlin referred to the talks that took place between the Minister of Defense and President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the release of a report “on the conduct of the special military operation” during a meeting of the Russian Security Council, refuting the questions raised by the minister’s prolonged absence from the scene in the midst of an armed conflict in his country.
The Kremlin also denied speculation about the minister’s health.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “the defense minister is currently busy,” adding, “There is no time for media activities at the moment.”
Shoigu’s media appearances are often numerous, and he often appears with Putin in Siberia.