Putin's own security services are arresting the officials responsible for keeping his army supplied, just as the Kremlin demands more weapons and faster production. The FSB is driving an expanding wave of corruption investigations involving procurement chiefs, Defense Ministry administrators, and members of Sergei Shoigu's old network. Men who once relied on powerful political patrons are facing detention, while officials still at their desks have every reason to conceal missed production targets.
At a rocket engine plant in Voronezh, contractors received roughly $59 million in advances for new manufacturing facilities but delivered only about $6 million in completed work, according to investigators. A senior executive was detained, and the main contractor fled to Thailand before his extradition and guilty plea. Those unfinished facilities were intended to support production connected to Soyuz rockets, which launch military reconnaissance and navigation satellites. The promised industrial expansion has instead become another corruption investigation.
Arrests have also reached Patriot Park, the Defense Ministry's showcase of military strength, while factories struggle to recruit qualified specialists. Scientists face prosecution, experienced administrators are losing their positions, and shortages of technical expertise threaten future production. Moscow keeps demanding more from an industry already struggling to deliver. Putin's own security apparatus is making those problems considerably worse.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro: Purges Paralyze Russian Defense Chiefs
01:17 - FSB Arrests Hit War Production
03:40 - Rocket Engine Fraud Halts Production
05:18 - Corruption Raids Target Defense Budgets
06:47 - FSB Seizes Control of Bureaucracy
08:26 - Stalinist Purges Target Rocket Scientists
09:54 - Worker Shortages Cripple Arms Factories
#Putin #FSB #MilitaryCorruption
