British intelligence predicts new arrests at the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Ministry of Defense of Great Britain stated in the X social network, which expects the continuation of the arrests of high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in connection with corruption. This statement was made after the arrest on May 23 of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Vadym Shamarin, on suspicion of receiving a bribe.

This is already the fourth high-profile arrest in the military sphere of Russia in recent times. Previously, Deputy Minister of Defense Timur Ivanov, Head of the Main Personnel Department Yuriy Kuznetsov and former commander of the 58th Army Ivan Popov were detained.

British intelligence believes that corruption is deeply rooted in the Russian Ministry of Defense and is not limited to detained individuals. In particular, attention is drawn to the fact that Shamarin’s predecessor as head of the communications department, Colonel General Khalil Arslanov, was also convicted of corruption in 2020.  In view of these events, British intelligence agents predict further arrests in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, since the fight against corruption will probably become one of the priority tasks of the new leadership of the department.