JAKARTA - Russian officials in Ukraine on Thursday suggested the country's defense minister should consider suicide, out of shame over defeat in the Ukraine war.
After more than seven months of war in Ukraine, Russia's most basic war goals have still not been achieved, while Russian troops have suffered a series of battlefield defeats in recent months, forcing President Putin to declare partial mobilization.
In a four-minute video message, Kirill Stremousov, Russia's appointed deputy head of the Kherson region, publicly denounced generals and ministers in Moscow for failing to understand problems on the front lines.
"Indeed, many say: if it was the defense minister who allowed things to be like that, they could, as officers, shoot themselves," said Stremousov, 45.
"But you know the word 'officer' is a word that a lot of people don't understand," he said.
Most importantly, however, critics blamed the Shoigu ministry for losing key battles for Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lyman and in the Kherson region.
Stremousov peppered his criticism with words of praise for the soldiers who stood to the death to defend their country, comparing their heroism to the "incompetent military leaders" in Moscow.
"The Ministry of Defense is not only made up of ministers, generals, corrupt looters and various other trash, but all the heroes who gave their lives to defend Russia," he criticized.
"Say this: The Ministry of Defense consists not only of ministers, generals, corrupt robbers and various other scum, but all the heroes who gave their lives today, who stood until the end," Stremousov said.
Public condemnation and insults to Putin's military chief are rare in Russia. However, a series of defeats on the Ukrainian battlefield has prompted some of the president's allies to rebuke the top generals.
Chechen leaders Ramzan Kadyrov and Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Mercenary Group, also booed the generals, saying the military was riddled with nepotism. Senior officers had to be removed from their ranks, sent to the front line barefoot to atone for their sins.
Previously, many Russian nationalists had repeatedly criticized Shoigu and his top generals for everything from poor planning and shallow logistics to outdated tactics and losing out on information warfare despite massive investments under President Putin.
Last week, two retired generals who are now members of the State Duma of President Putin's United Russia party criticized the defense ministry for corruption and dishonesty.
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It's unclear whether the criticism was coordinated, although it posed a problem for President Putin during a pivotal point in the war: sacrificing a close ally and admitting the military had failed, or leaving Shoigu at the risk of blaming himself.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, one of Putin's closest allies, was appointed in 2012. They have a close relationship, regularly spending holidays together in the forests and mountains of Tuva, where Shoigu is from.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a written request for comment.
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