Where is defense minister Shoigu? "He has a lot to do at the moment"

Since he has not been seen in public for 13 days, there has been a lot of speculation recently about Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The Russian government now says that Shoigu is currently very busy.

That's what it's about

Sergei Shoigu's last public appearance was 13 days ago.

Normally, the defense minister regularly appears on state television.

According to the government, Shoigu currently has his hands full and simply no time for media appearances.

The Russian government has dismissed public speculation about Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's long absence. "The defense minister has a lot to do at the moment," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday. Peskov later told Russian news agencies that Shoigu had briefed President Vladimir Putin on the progress of the military operation in Ukraine during a Security Council meeting.

Then, in the evening, a Defense Ministry statement said that Shoigu had spoken on the phone with his Armenian counterpart, Suren Papikyan. They had discussed the "current situation in the region and the areas where the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh are performing their duty."

The 66-year-old defense minister is usually a regular on state television broadcasts. But he has not made any public appointments since March 11, according to media reports.

"Not the time for media appearances"

The absence of Russian government officials often leads to rumors of illness, as authorities are reluctant to disclose such information. Speculation by some media outlets about Shoigu's health has now been dismissed by Kremlin spokesman Peskov, who briefly said that in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine, it was "not the time for media appearances."

Has he fallen out of favor with Putin or does he have health problems? One thing is certain: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (66) has not been seen in public for 13 days.