Shocked! Russian deputy defense minister jailed for graft

April 24, 2024

Russian Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov inspects the construction of apartment blocks in Mariupol, Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this October 2022 image.

Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Russian authorities this week detained a prominent deputy defense minister on corruption charges. Timur Ivanov, a long-standing close ally of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, oversaw a wide variety of construction and logistics projects for the Russian armed forces, including in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

Anti-corruption activists, including the outfit of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, had long focused on Ivanov’s lavish lifestyle. This is the highest-profile corruption takedown since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Now, if you are shocked – shocked! – that there’s corruption in Russian military contracting, we’ve got news for you: Corruption is rife in the Russian government. Getting busted is usually less about a sudden universal respect for transparency, and more about turf battles within the Russian elite.

Is Shoigu in trouble? Not yet, but note two things. One, he’s heard lots of criticism from pro-war hawks who accuse him of corruption and incompetence in his military strategy. The most prominent of them, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is no longer among the living, but the grumblings continue. Second, in just a few weeks, Vladimir Putin will be reinaugurated and will have to name a new cabinet. If Shoigu really is in any trouble, that’s when it will become clear.

Carney clinches Canadian Liberal leadership

Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney listens to outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's speech just before being elected to succeed Trudeau as Liberal Party leader on Sunday, March 9, in Ottawa, Canada.

REUTERS/Amber Bracken/Pool

Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, won the leadership of Canada’s Liberal Party on Sunday, succeeding outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Sectarian violence erupts in Syria – in former Assad stronghold

Syrian fighters and civilians carry the coffin of a member of the Syrian security forces during his funeral in Hama province after he and 11 other colleagues were killed in an ambush by groups loyal to the ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Latakia.

Moawia Atrash/dpa via Reuters Connect

It seems that the 14-year-long civil war isn’t quite over in Syria. Since Thursday, violent clashes between deposed dictator Bashar Assad’s Alawite loyalists and supporters of the new Sunni regime in the coastal regions have left over 1,000 dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Republicans bid to avoid government shutdown

US House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, U.S., in February 2025.

REUTERS/Nathan Howard

With a government shutdown deadline looming on Friday, US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Saturday introduced a continuing resolution that, if passed, would effectively fund the government through September. US President Donald Trump has backed the bill. The budget battle comes as fears rise over the impact of Trump's tariff policies, and the flip-flopping nature of their implementation. On Sunday, Trump refused to rule out that his aggressive economic policies could cause a recession.

Putin ramps up attacks as Ukraine flies blind ahead of Riyadh talks

People stand at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dobropillia, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on March 8, 2025.

REUTERS/Nadia Karpova

Russian forces bombarded Ukraine for two consecutive nights this weekend, killing over 25 people in Donetsk and Kharkiv. Moscow also retook three towns in Kursk after troops crawled for miles through a gas pipeline and staged a surprise attack.

Kim Jong Un shows off North Korea’s first nuclear-powered sub

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un visits a shipyard, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 8, 2025.

KCNA via REUTERS

Cigarette in hand, and with the toothiest of grins, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un posed for photographs at a shipyard next to the makings of a “nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine.” The vessel appears to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class one, with a payload of 10 missiles, in line with plans unveiled at the Hermit Kingdom’s 2021 party congress.

Syria sees worst fighting since Assad’s fall

Syrian forces head to Latakia after fighters linked to Syria's ousted leader Bashar Assad mounted a deadly attack on government forces on Thursday, March 6, 2025.

REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano

Nearly 50 people were killed on Thursday in the deadliest clashes Syria has seen since the overthrow of Bashar Assad. Pro-Assad militants attacked security checkpoints around the western coastal town of Jableh, a stronghold of the former regime.

Shocked! Russian deputy defense minister jailed for graft

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Syria sees worst fighting since Assad’s fall

Nearly 50 people were killed on Thursday in the deadliest clashes Syria has seen since the overthrow of Bashar Assad. Pro-Assad militants attacked security checkpoints around the western coastal town of Jableh, a stronghold of the former regime.

Shocked! Russian deputy defense minister jailed for graft

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As Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky was in Saudi Arabia Monday ahead of US-Ukrainian talks, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk has made waves in recent days.

Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, won the leadership of Canada’s Liberal Party on Sunday, succeeding outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Russian forces bombarded Ukraine for two consecutive nights this weekend, killing over 25 people in Donetsk and Kharkiv. Moscow also retook three towns in Kursk after troops crawled for miles through a gas pipeline and staged a surprise attack.

With so much of the world in geopolitical flux these days, it’s hard to pick clear winners or losers. But one leader who could be pretty happy about how things are going at the moment is Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Nearly 50 people were killed on Thursday in the deadliest clashes Syria has seen since the overthrow of Bashar Assad. Pro-Assad militants attacked security checkpoints around the western coastal town of Jableh, a stronghold of the former regime.