Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, has relieved Yuri Sadovenko, a lieutenant general and the head of the Ministry of Defense apparatus, of his duties. Oleg Saveliev, an auditor of the Accounts Chamber, has been appointed as his replacement, as reported by TASS.
The relevant decrees were published on the legal information portal.
Oleg Saveliev, born in 1956, is a graduate of the radio physics faculty of the M. Kalinin Polytechnic Institute. He previously held the position of Deputy Minister of Economic Development and served as the "minister" for issues related to the occupied Crimea. In 2018, he joined the Accounts Chamber as the head of the apparatus of the state audit body.
According to an investigation conducted by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, it was found that Maria Kitaeva, a former advisor to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a retired major general, had been in a relationship with Sadovenko for 8 years and bore three children from him. Kitaeva met Shoigu while working for the television channels "Zvezda" and "Russia 24". Shoigu appointed her as his advisor on information technology.
In 2023, Kitaeva was involved with Timur Ivanov, who was then the Deputy Defense Minister. On April 23, Ivanov was arrested, and the Basmanny District Court of Moscow decided to detain him for two months the following day. He was accused of providing assistance to Defense Ministry contractors who performed repair work for him free of charge.
