Russia arrests another senior Defense Ministry official on bribery charges amid broader shake-up

By The Associated Press

Russian authorities have arrested a second senior Defense Ministry official on bribery charges days after President Vladimir Putin replaced the defense minister in a Cabinet shake-up. The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top law enforcement body, said Tuesday that the chief of the ministry’s main personnel directorate Lt. Gen. Yury Kuznetsov was arrested and placed in custody pending investigation and trial. Putin on Sunday replaced Sergei Shoigu as defense minister in a Cabinet reshuffle as he begins his fifth term in office. Shoigu’s deputy Timur Ivanov was arrested last month also on bribery charges.