According to local media, General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russian military operations in Ukraine, has been detained for his suspected role in the short-lived revolt staged by the Wagner mercenary organisation last weekend.
Although no official confirmation of his detention was provided, The Moscow Times claimed, citing sources close to the Defence Ministry, that “the situation with him (Surovikin) was not ‘OK.'”
The General, who also serves as the Commander of the Aerospace Forces, has not been seen in public since June 24, when Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an armed uprising against the country’s military authority.
According to one of the sources, the detention was carried out “in the context of Prigozhin.”
“Apparently, he (Surovikin) chose Prigozhin’s side during the uprising.”
When queried about the location of the General, the source stated, “We are not even commenting on this information through our internal channels.”
Surovikin was captured on June 25, a day after the mutiny, according to pro-war military blogger Vladimir Romanov, who said the General was being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo detention camp.
According to The Moscow Times, Alexei Venediktov, editor-in-chief of the defunct Ekho Moskvy radio station, stated in a Telegram message that Surovikin had not been in communication with his family for three days and that his guards were also unresponsive.
According to the BBC, mercenary forces commanded by Prigozhin took over the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on June 24, marched towards Moscow, and shot down Russian military helicopters and an aircraft on their approach.
Their rebellion was subsequently called off when a settlement was reached with the assistance of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Wagner will be disarmed, but its members will not face punishment for their brief insurrection, according to Russian officials.
