UPDATE 1-Putin appoints deputy defence minister Bulyga to security council

President Vladimir Putin has appointed Andrei Bulyga, one of Russia's deputy defence ministers since last year, as deputy secretary of the country's powerful security council, according to a decree published on the Kremlin's website on Saturday.

In a separate decree, Putin appointed Colonel-General Alexander Sanchik, who had been serving as commander of Russia's southern military district, as a deputy defence minister, replacing Bulyga. Bulyga, a lieutenant-general in the Russian army, had held the post of deputy minister in charge of logistical support since March 2024.

He took office on the eve of a series of swirling corruption cases that began in April 2024 and has seen more than a dozen people, including three former deputy defence ministers, arrested on charges including embezzlement and bribe-taking. Long-serving defence minister Sergei Shoigu was appointed secretary of the security council in May 2024, amid the corruption scandals and criticism of his forces' performance in Ukraine.