Shoigu will transition to become secretary of Russia's national security council, replacing Nikolai Patrushev. Andrei Belousov, currently deputy prime minister with a background in economics but no military experience, has been proposed as the new defense minister.
Rather than firing Shoigu, Putin has offered his longtime ally a soft landing, says Eurasia Group analyst Alex Brideau. Brideau says the move is “a reflection that Putin thought he needed a change at defense.” But rather than an outright snub, it’s also an example, he says, of how rarely Putin outright fires those who have demonstrated long-term loyalty.
According to Kremlin press spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the appointment of Belousov emphasizes the need for “innovation” in the role. Philip Ingram, a former British military intelligence colonel and NATO planner, believes that the shuffle allows Putin “to keep Shoigu on side,” while bringing in a civilian better able to deal withthe impact of corruption in the Defence Ministry. Others have described the shift as a sign that Putin wants to put the war in Ukraine on an “economically sustainable footing” – something an economist like Belousov might be better positioned to do.Artificial intelligence is transforming one of humanity's oldest challenges: predicting the weather. Speaking at the 2026 AI for Good Global Summit, World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explains how AI has dramatically accelerated weather forecasting. Tasks that once required a week of computing can now generate multi-day forecasts in just minutes, making advanced forecasting faster, more accessible, and increasingly available beyond the world's largest supercomputers.
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