Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had vanished from public view a little more than a month into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Russian forces remained stalled in several areas. As the war progressed, he ‘vanished’ in mid-March, sparking widespread speculation about his whereabouts. Many speculated that the official was punished by the Kremlin for Russia’s slow progress in the ongoing war. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have suggested that a medical emergency has been triggered by an interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While Shoigu, a close ally of President Putin, reappeared on Thursday in a brief video clip aired by state media, speculation about his 12-day disappearance continues. It’s unclear whether the video featuring Russia’s powerful defence minister is recent.

“Right now, the defence minister is preoccupied with a number of issues. A special military operation is in progress. The time for media activity is not right now “On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. While he had not been seen in a while, reports citing the Kremlin claim that Shoigu briefed Putin and Russia’s Security Council on the military operation in Ukraine on Thursday.

On Saturday, Anton Gerashchenko, the adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, posted on Facebook that Shoigu had gone missing after suffering a heart attack.
“Shoigu’s heart attack occurred following Putin’s harsh accusation of a total failure of the invasion of Ukraine. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the N. N. Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital “Read his post, which has been roughly translated from Russian.