Russia’s military-industrial complex is undergoing a wave of purges.
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Since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, repressions against those “not sufficiently politically protected” have been intensifying. In particular, the head of the Military Construction Company of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Andrei Belkov, has been arrested on charges of corruption related to procurement activities. This is stated in a new summary of the British Ministry of Defense on the social network X.
The military construction company was founded in 2019. Former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu praised the company for its “special internal and external audit regime,” but at the time, the firm was used by corrupt Russian officials to enrich themselves.
In addition, the former director of the Zvezda-Strela tactical missile plant received a prison term for theft and price gouging.
British intelligence noted that corruption was widespread in the Russian defense industry. And in 2007, an audit commissioned by then-Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov found that 70% of the Defense Ministry’s budget resources were being used for purposes other than those officially intended.
Some of this corruption is tolerated by the Kremlin, but since the start of the war in Ukraine, repression against those who are not sufficiently politically protected has intensified, the British point out.
Let us recall that Bloomberg reported that in the first nine months of 2023, Russia purchased goods for its military industry from the European Union worth almost $500 million.
Source: Racurs
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