Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed three new deputy ministers to the country’s defence ministry, including a woman who is believed to be a distant relative.

Anna Tsivileva, whose maiden name is Putina, is to be responsible for housing construction and social security for members of the armed forces.

Another new deputy minister, Pavel Fradkov, is the son of former intelligence chief and prime minister Mikhail Fradkov.

The younger Mr Fradkov is to manage the army’s property and assets. The former deputy finance minister Leonid Gorin was appointed as first deputy defence minister by presidential decree.

According to Russian media research, Ms Tsivileva, 52, is related to the Russian president through her father.

Her husband is energy minister Sergei Tsivilev. Together, they own a large coal company. Both are on the sanctions lists of the European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries because they have profited from their closeness to the Russian government.

Ms Tsivileva most recently headed a state fund to support the soldiers deployed in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

In a Telegram post, she thanked Mr Putin for the trust and responsibility he had placed in her, the newspaper Izvestia reported on Tuesday.

At the beginning of his new term of office in May, Mr Putin dismissed his long-serving defence minister, Sergei Shoigu.

Several men close to him are being investigated for corruption.

The Russian president appointed the economic expert Alexander Beloussov as the new defence minister.

Independent experts cited by Izvestia noted that the new deputy ministers are not part of Mr Beloussov’s team but rather come from Putin’s immediate circle.

Economist Konstantin Sonin wrote on X that Mr Putin had “doubled down on loyalists with no expertise or experience in the relevant government positions.”

(dpa/NAN)