### Russian Defense Ministry Purge Continues with High-Level Arrests
Russian security services have arrested Dmitry Bulgakov, a former deputy defense minister, on corruption charges, according to Interfax news agency. The Federal Security Service (FSB) confirmed that investigations are ongoing to uncover the truth behind Bulgakov’s alleged illegal activities. He has been placed in a temporary detention center in Moscow pending trial.
Bulgakov, who was responsible for military logistics until his dismissal in September 2022, is the latest in a series of high-profile figures within the Ministry of Defense to face corruption allegations. This marks the largest scandal involving the Russian military in years, occurring as new Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, an economist with no military experience, has been tasked with purging corruption from the armed forces and streamlining its finances to ensure funding for Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The anti-corruption campaign began on April 23 with the arrest of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov. Since then, at least five defense officials have been detained. Bulgakov, 69, who graduated from Russian military academies and held various logistical roles in the army, was a deputy defense minister until his removal in 2022. He has received several high military and civilian awards, including the “Hero of Russia” medal.
Additionally, a Moscow court ordered the arrest of Andrei Belkov, head of the Ministry of Defense’s construction department, for two months on suspicion of abuse of power. Belkov oversees a military construction company responsible for building bases, hospitals, schools, and other military facilities. The company is supervised by Timur Ivanov, who was arrested in April on bribery charges.
According to Russian news outlet Meduza, Belkov was arrested in connection with the overpriced purchase of a tomography machine during the reconstruction of a military medical center. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Ivanov, Belkov’s superior and a close aide to Sergey Shoigu, was removed from his position as defense minister by President Vladimir Putin shortly after the latter’s re-election in May. Shoigu has faced severe criticism for Russian military failures in Ukraine and has been accused of incompetence and corruption by Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, who led a rebellion in June 2023 demanding Shoigu’s dismissal along with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
By/radwa sherif ✏️✏️📚