He is neither imprisoned nor exiled in a former Soviet republic. the russian generalSergei Surovikin has reappeared two months after his last public appearance in a video calling on Wagner Group mercenaries to call off the march on Moscow that kept Vladimir Putin himself at bay for several hours. The disgraced soldier appears in a photo disguised as a civilian on a channel of the Telegram news application, accompanied by his wife.
After the failed mutiny led by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, the burden of doubt fell on Surovikin, who had long been considered the main mediator between the two Kremlin and Wagner. Some sources even said he was a clandestine member of the mercenary group. According to various reports, Surovikin was arrested after he was sacked as head of the Russian Aerospace Forces in August. Last year he commanded the Russian troops in Ukraine.
As soon as the picture appeared on Telegram, there were numerous reactions. “General Sergei Surovikin is out,” reported Ostorozhno Novosti. “He’s alive, healthy, at home, with his family, in Moscow.” Alexei Venediktoveditor of the now-defunct channel Ekho Moskvy, said Surovikin was “on leave and available to the Defense Ministry.” From the US, the New York Times reported that the famous general was released shortly after Prigozhin died in a plane crash on August 23 .
Prigozhin was one of the most ardent defenders of Surovikin, so much so that suspicions arose whether the general had helped Wagner’s superiors prepare the mutiny that took place on June 24 and lasted only a few hours.
