Putin keeps it in the family as he appoints his own cousin as deputy defence minister weeks after her husband was made energy minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed his cousin as deputy defence minister amid the war against Ukraine.

In a move smacking of nepotism, Putin, 71, named Anna Tsivileva, 52, the daughter of his late cousin, to the post on Monday.

It follows a Kremlin meeting with her earlier this month.

The new minister's husband Sergei Tsivileva was recently appointed energy minister in the regime, formerly a regional governor in a coal region called Kemerovo. 

Mrs Tsivileva, a loyal backer of the invasion of Ukraine, has headed a group called the Defenders of the Fatherland, state fund set up to 'help' participants in a conflict that has killed and injured more than 450,000 Russians.

Anna Tsivileva (pictured) has been appointed one of Russia's deputy defence ministers

Vladimir Putin (right) named Tsivileva (left) to the post on Monday after a Kremlin meeting earlier this month

Tsivileva (pictured) is Putin's cousin, whose husband was recently named energy minister

Her relation to Putin is not highlighted in state media reports. 

Tsivileva was appointed alongside several other deputy defence ministers, as four were sacked in a major reshuffle.

This marked Putin's latest purge, ousting the remaining allies of former defence minister Sergei Shoigu, who he dismissed last month.

Heading up the defence ministry now is Andrey Belousov, an economist close to the Russian dictator, who has a mission to rid the department of corruption.

In 2022, Tsivileva was sanctioned by the UK Government over her links to Putin.

Tsivileva, a businesswoman and psychologist, has been president of JSC Kolmar Group, a major Russian coal mining company.

She will be in charge of social and housing support for the military, and usher in a 'new qualitative level', according to the ministry.

In another move among a slew of appointments, Putin named Pavel Fradkov, son of former Prime Minister and spy chief Mikhail Fradkov, as his first deputy chief of presidential affairs.

Tsivileva (pictured) is a loyal backer of the war in Ukraine and has led a group called the Defenders of the Fatherland, set up to 'help' participants inthe conflict

Tsivileva's (pictured) appointment marks another step in Putin's purge of former defence minister Sergei Shoigu's cronies

Tsivileva (left) was sanctioned by the UK Government over her links to Putin (right) in 2022

Tsivileva (pictured) is a businesswoman and psychologist, and has been president of JSC Kolmar Group, a major Russian coal mining company.

Meanwhile, Putin sacked deputy defence ministers Nikolai Pankov, Ruslan Tsalikov, Tatiana Shevtsova and Pavel Popov, according to Kremlin decrees.

Leonid Gornin, previously first deputy finance minister, will now serve as first deputy defence minister under Andrei Belousov, an economist with no military experience who was named last month to replace Shoigu. 

Also named as deputy defence ministers were Oleg Savelyev and Pavel Fradkov, the son of former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. 

Fradkov will oversee the management of property, land and construction relating to the military.

Another former deputy defence minister, Timur Ivanov, was arrested on April 23 and accused of bribe-taking. 

Since then, four other top officials at the ministry and general staff have been arrested on the same charges in the biggest corruption scandal to hit the Russian government in years.