Putin literally turned his back on his loyal defense minister on Russian state TV

• President Vladimir Putin literally turned his back on his defense minister during a publicity stunt.
• In the clip from Russian state TV, Putin appears to avoid facing Sergei Shoigu, his loyal minister of defense.

Russian state TV caught an apparently icy moment between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his defense minister on video.

During a visit to a Moscow military hospital to give Russian soldiers medals, Putin appeared to turn away from Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu.

Putin met with some of the soldiers at the hospital before returning to the center of the room with Shoigu. But Putin kept his back to Shoigu, who appeared confused by the awkward moment.

The clip was shared online by Ukrainian politician Volodymyr Omelyan, who taunted that Shoigu might be out of a job soon. That sort of speculation has surrounded Shoigu throughout the war.

Shoigu has been the target of criticism as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has devolved into a grinding, protracted war that's chewed through Russian troops and equipment and hamstrung Russia's economy.

The conflict, which Russia long described only as a "special military operation," was expected to be over in a matter of days after Russia invaded, but the fighting continues at high cost over 15 months later.

Late last August, as Ukraine began making counteroffensive moves that put Russian forces on the defensive, the British defense ministry, citing independent Russian media, said that "due to the problems Russia is facing in its war against Ukraine, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is now being side-lined within the Russian leadership."

It said that "Russian officers and soldiers with first-hand experience of the war probably routinely ridicule Shoigu," who has no real military experience, "for his ineffectual and out-of-touch leadership as Russian progress has stalled."

As the Ukrainian counteroffensive achieved results late last summer and into the fall, Putin's favor shifted, and regular and irregular commanders began engaging the Russian leader directly, bypassing the defense ministry.

But that apparently shifted again earlier this year, putting the ministry back in the driver's seat much to the displeasure of some like Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the paramilitary Wagner Group.

The problem for Shoigu is that Russia's winter offensive made only limited advances and came at tremendous costs for the Russian army. Russian forces are now again on defense, and Ukrainian forces armed with Western equipment have begun taking back territory as part of another counteroffensive push.

Russia is putting up stiff resistance in some sectors, but Ukraine is advancing. It is, however, unclear whether there is a rift between Putin and his defense minister or, if there is, whether or not recent events are the cause of any potential tension between them.