Russian acting Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin gestures as he addresses the State Duma, Lower House of the Russian Parliament in Moscow, on May 10.Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a decree appointing a new government, including replacement of the defence minister with a former deputy prime minister who is an economics expert with no military background.
On Sunday, he signed a decree moving Sergei Shoigu from his post as defence minister to head of the national security council. Putin also nominated deputy prime minister Andrei Belousov to take Shoigu’s place. Shoigu has been widely seen as a key figure in Putin’s decision to send Russian troops into Ukraine. Russia had expected the operation to quickly overwhelm Ukraine’s much smaller and less-equipped army and for Ukrainians to broadly welcome Russian troops.