Putin prepares Russia for indefinite war: How Vladimir's new choice of defence chief proves he is willing to go all the way in Ukraine - as potential conflict with NATO looms

Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a fifth presidential term earlier this month precipitated a major shakeup in the upper echelons of Russia's elite. 

With a corruption scandal plaguing his creaking defence ministry and his troops requiring an endless supply of lethal weaponry to wreak havoc in Ukraine, the Russian President took drastic action. 

Putin yanked the long-suffering Sergei Shoigu, who had served as defence minister since 2012 and oversaw Russia's bungling invasion of Ukraine, from his position and instead made him secretary of the Federation's security council.

By presidential decree, lifelong mathematician and economist Andrei Removich Belousov stepped into the unenviable position as the top official presiding over Russia's war effort.

With the conflict across the border now well into its third year, the appointment offers yet more proof that the Kremlin is willing to go all the way in Ukraine and is transforming its economy, industry and society to go to war indefinitely. 

Now, with no end to the fighting in sight and a potential conflict with NATO looming on the horizon, MailOnline spoke to several experts to learn more about Russia's new defence minister and explain exactly why his appointment suggests Moscow is committed to causing chaos. 

One would typically expect the wartime defence minister of a nation with one of the world's largest armed forces to have at least some military background - although that didn't stop former civilian engineer Shoigu from occupying the role, either. 

But Dr. Richard Connolly, an expert on the Russian economy and fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said it is precisely Belousov's head for numbers that nabbed him the top job as overseer of the war effort - to ensure it can be sustained for the long haul. 

The new defence minister previously held positions as an adviser to Putin, economy minister, first deputy prime minister and, briefly, acting prime minister. 

He is also credited with establishing Russia's highly successful drone development programme and in 2017, according to Russian media outlet RBC, was among those who convinced Putin that the digital economy and blockchains were crucial to the future.

Dr. Connolly told MailOnline: 'Russia's Ministry of Defence is now managing record levels of money. Depending on how we measure it, my estimate is that in the year of 2024, military spending will account for about 40% of the federal budget.

'It has never been this high in the entire post-Soviet period. (Kremlin Press Secretary) Dmitry Peskov said defence spending this year was likely to be 6.7% of GDP - that's just 0.7% less than the height of the Cold War when tensions between the Soviet Union and the West were at an all-time high. 

'For that you need a manager rather than necessarily somebody with military experience.'

Dr. Ksenia Kirkham, economic warfare expert and lecturer at King's College London's Department of War Studies, added that Belousov will have little involvement in military operations, unlike his predecessor who despite his lack of experience in the armed forces appeared to have significant input. 

But his expertise means he can represent Russia on the world stage and engage more closely with valued partners, helping to solidify essential economic and defence ties.  

'The appointment of Belousov will not change the current coordinate system... in the current context, the post of defence minister requires the ability of a strategic vision of Russia's place in the global political economy, of the contemporary world order and the country's prospects for the development.'

Dr. Kirkham said it was 'remarkable' that Belousov joined Putin on his first state visit abroad to China after re-election this week, exemplifying how the Kremlin sees him as a vital figure in formulating Moscow's approach to 'global problems and economic cooperation' with friendly states. 

Dr. Alan Cafruny, professor of international affairs at the US' Hamilton College, added that Belousov's deep understanding of economics will ensure Russia can sustain 'industrialisation in the context of a protracted war' - something he said other leading figures helming Russia's economy cannot do. 

'Belousov is charged simultaneously with stabilising the economy and further ramping up military production.

'As Putin himself has declared, ''Guns and Butter'' must be ''organically integrated into the overall development strategy of the Russian state'',' Dr Cafruny said. 

Besides his obvious economic clout, Belousov also boasts a squeaky clean reputation as a safe pair of hands.

Admittedly, this is not a description one would typically associate with a member of the Russian elite. 

Russia as we know it under Putin emerged from the embers of the collapsed Soviet Union, where economic freefall gave way to gangster capitalism and led to the woefully corrupt system of today where the classes are separated by a veritable chasm and officials at every level take a cut where they can.  

Last month's arrest of Shoigu's number two Timur Ivanov on bribery charges and the subsequent revelation this week that top defence official Yury Kuznetsov reportedly accepted bribes worth more than $1 million should hardly come as a surprise.

But with Moscow's spending on the war climbing ever higher and efficiency suddenly of paramount importance, such egregious corruption cannot stand. 

That necessitates the deployment of a stringent manager who knows where to look to root out financial fiddling - something that Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said would be one of the new defence minister's first tasks. 

Dr. Connolly said of Belousov: 'He's relatively incorruptible, certainly compared to Shoigu, who was widely acknowledged to have allowed more than the usual amount of corruption that you see in Russia.

'Belousov is seen as somebody who is not inclined to get involved either personally, or as a patron to people who serve under him, so I think that's an important part, he is seen as a more ascetic.'

The third and final key motivation behind Putin's appointment of Belousov is the minister's personal belief that the state should occupy a greater role in steering a nation's economy.

These 'eastward leanings', as Dr. Connolly put it, and his loyalty to Putin as a top technocrat, will afford the Kremlin greater oversight and control of Russia's wartime economy - something it desperately needs if Moscow seeks to wage war across the border for the foreseeable future. 

'This is about making the state work better to sustain a long war - and this is why Belousov is seen as an appropriate person for that job, despite a total lack of military experience. 

'He favours state involvement and therefore will funnel large sums of funds towards state enterprises and manage the interaction between lots of defence industrial firms.'

Dr. Kirkham added that Belousov will be tasked with ensuring the war effort, although an indisputable priority for the Kremlin, cannot supersede Russia's wider social and economic progress at a time when Moscow is seeking to cement its position as a leader of the push towards multipolarity away from the Western-led global order. 

In February, Putin himself said Russia must not repeat the error of the Soviet Union by pursuing an arms race that ate up too much of its budget, declaring that the ramping up of the defence industry must be conducted in such a way that Russia's overall scientific and industrial potential can flourish.

'Belousov's expertise will not only serve to organically link the development of the military-industrial complex to the overall development strategy in the best possible way.

'He will also be expected to keep the military sector subjugated to Russia's overall developmental goals, not the other way round,' she said. 

Belousov himself seems fully cognizant of the expectations placed upon him by Putin.

Speaking Tuesday at the upper house of parliament following his appointment, he said of his newfound responsibility: 'It's not easy... it's comprehensive and primarily implies optimisation of military spending. First and foremost, optimisation means increasing efficiency.'

He went on to credit Shoigu with overseeing the modernisation of Russia's military prior to the invasion of Ukraine, but declared more had to be done to increase supplies of modern artillery and missile systems, drones and electronic warfare assets to frontline troops. 

Then, in an apparent jab at his predecessor and his entourage over the allegations of rank-and-file corruption - as well as claims they routinely hid setbacks in Ukraine from Putin - the defence minister said he would carry out his duties according to an 'ironclad principle'.

'It's possible to make mistakes - but it's inadmissible to lie.'

But it remains to be seen whether the defence minister's morals remain so strong after a few months under the Russian President's inescapable microscope.