General Sergey Surovikin, one of the few Russian military leaders viewed favorably by exiled Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, hasn’t been seen in public in days.
U.S. intelligence officials believe Gen. Surovikin, the Russian Aerospace Forces commander, knew about the mercenary chief’s attempted rebellion. According to analysts, Prigozhin moved against the government, believing he had widespread support among Russia’s military leaders.
The New York Times continues:
The officials said they are trying to learn if Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the former top Russian commander in Ukraine, helped plan Mr. Prigozhin’s actions last weekend, which posed the most dramatic threat to President Vladimir V. Putin in his 23 years in power.
General Surovikin is a respected military leader who helped shore up defenses across the battle lines after Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year, analysts say. He was replaced as the top commander in January but retained influence in running war operations and remains popular among the troops.
American officials also said there are signs that other Russian generals may also have supported Mr. Prigozhin’s attempt to change the leadership of the Defense Ministry by force. Current and former U.S. officials said Mr. Prigozhin would not have launched his uprising unless he believed that others in positions of power would come to his aid.
If General Surovikin was involved in last weekend’s events, it would be the latest sign of the infighting that has characterized Russia’s military leadership since the start of Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine and could signal a wider fracture between supporters of Mr. Prigozhin and Mr. Putin’s two senior military advisers: Sergei K. Shoigu, the minister of defense, and Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the chief of general staff.
The last verified sighting of Surovikin was on Saturday when he appeared in a bizarre video urging Wagnerites to abandon their drive on Moscow. Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and others have speculated that Surovikin was intoxicated.
A Kremlin spokesman called reports that Surovikin knew about the revolt beforehand “gossip.”
The Kremlin had “no comment” on the general’s whereabouts.
The disastrous invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated bitter rivalries between Russia’s elite. It’s unclear if other generals supported Prigozhin’s campaign against Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Regardless, they may still be vulnerable.
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