Russia’s Shoigu inspects troops, oversees training of new military units
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected troops and overseen training of newly formed units made up of contracted servicemen, his ministry said on Saturday. The ministry released video footage on its Telegram channel showing Shoigu in khaki military fatigues inspecting soldiers at a shooting range, in his first public appearance with troops since last month’s aborted mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group. The ministry did not say when the video was filmed or when the inspection took place. Shoigu said on Monday that the mutiny did not affect Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Wagner fighters took over the southern Russian city of Rostov and advanced toward Moscow on June 24 as their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded the dismissal of Shoigu and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov. The crisis was defused when Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal between the Kremlin and Prigozhin. “The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation personally checked the training of contract servicemen in combat operations in various conditions, including urban combat,” the defense ministry said on Saturday. Read more: