The Federal Treasury of Russia is conducting inspections at the Ministry of Defense in Moscow in connection with the costs of the war in Ukraine, TASS reports.

This was stated on Wednesday by the head of the Russian Ministry of Finance, Roman Artyukin, at a meeting with Prime Minister Mykhailo Mishustin.

“I would like to inform you that in accordance with your instructions to the Coordination Council on meeting the needs of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, we are currently conducting inspections in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in four key areas related to the special military operation,” he said.

Artyukin then listed the relevant areas: costs for the supply of body armor, costs for communication equipment, costs for fuel and repair and production of weapons and military equipment.

“This inspection will be continued,” said the head of the Russian Treasury.

The announcement comes amid what appears to be an intensifying power struggle between various factions in the Russian state, but it is unclear what prompted the checks.

Actions are less common in Moscow

The commander of Wagner’s mercenaries last week accused the military leadership in Moscow, including Minister Sergei Shoigu, of actions “that can be equated to high treason” after he complained that his fighters, who did the brunt of the fighting for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, were not were receiving a sufficient amount of ammunition.

Just two days after this unprecedented accusation, Prigozhin declared “victory” in his battle for ammunition, but said that “so far it’s only on paper.”

However, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is considered one of President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, having been with him since the beginning of his political career and remaining in office despite numerous setbacks for Russian forces deployed in Ukraine.

Instead, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is considered a technocrat who does not get involved in political intrigues, he was appointed the head of the Russian government in 2020 after 10 years as the head of the Russian Treasury.

Russian investigative websites, which operate outside the country to avoid censorship in Moscow, wrote that Mishustin and his government were not even informed by Putin that he was going to order the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The scandal involving the supply of equipment for the Russian army

One possibility is that the Kremlin ordered these inspections as a cover to put the proverbial kerchief on the drum about Defense Department purchases in the context of many Russian recruits complaining about the quality of the weapons and equipment they received.

Just as the “partial mobilization” was carried out on Putin’s orders, the supply of Russian men with the necessary military equipment caused a national scandal in Russia, with the situation widely commented on by Moscow TV channels, but mostly denied. built-in accounts.

At the end of December, the head of the Kremlin ordered the creation of the Military-Industrial Commission – a permanent body created to organize state policy in the field of the military industry, military-technical support of defense, national security and legislation. implementation.

This commission, created, in fact, to coordinate Russian military production and supply of troops to Ukraine, includes the highest Russian security forces and is headed by Putin himself.

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