Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defence minister, has tried to send a "business as usual" message since his deputy was arrested on a bribery charge. But the widening scandal looks bad for him too, and is seen as a push by a rival clan to dilute his power.

Moscow's court service says a third man has been detained in a major bribery case involving one of Russian's most senior defense officials

A Russian deputy defense minister has been charged with taking a bribe, in the country’s highest-profile corruption scandal since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.