Belousov says Russia must win in Ukraine while minimising troop losses

(Adds quotes, details) MOSCOW, May 14 (Reuters) - Russia's main task is to achieve victory on the battlefield in Ukraine with the minimal loss of troops, Andrei Belousov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's nominee for defence minister, said on Tuesday.

(Adds quotes, details) MOSCOW, May 14 (Reuters) -

Russia's main task is to achieve victory on the battlefield in Ukraine with the minimal loss of troops, Andrei Belousov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's nominee for defence minister, said on Tuesday. Russia should employ all advanced and effective tools in its arsenal to ensure such a victory, he said, adding that it needed to ensure defence spending was used more effectively.

Belousov, an economist whom Putin unexpectedly nominated on Sunday to replace Sergei Shoigu, said the military sector needed more efficiency and innovation. "The enemy is learning quickly. The situation related to the use of new technologies changes literally every week. And here we need not just to learn, we need to preempt the enemy," Belousov said.

He said that Russia needed to work out "new methods of waging warfare". Belousov, who has no military experience, has been tasked by Putin with maximising efficiencies in Russia's war economy as its troops attempt to push deeper into Ukraine in the third year of the conflict.

He was appointed against the background of a major bribery scandal at the defence ministry which widened on Tuesday with the arrest of another senior official. Belousov said it was imperative that Russian soldiers have the most modern equipment, including drones and communications equipment, and sufficient ammunition.

But there was no need for another mass call-up of Russian troops, he said. Putin ordered a mobilisation of 300,000 reservists in late 2022, in an unpopular move that prompted hundreds of thousands of Russians to flee the country to avoid being drafted.