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General Sergei Surovikin, who has not been seen in public since the mutiny carried out in June by mercenaries of the Wagner Group, has reappeared in a photo published online. This has further deepened the mystery regarding the fate of the Russian commander.
Unidentified US officials, meanwhile, said Surovikin was released from detention days after the plane belonging to Wagner boss Yevgen Prigozhin crashed. According to The New York Times, Surovikin still holds the rank of general.
Nicknamed "General Armageddon", Surovikin was in command of Russia's aerospace forces, and last October he was named commander of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He was removed from leadership of the war three months later.
On August 23, in the early hours of the rebellion initiated by Prigozhin, Surovikin appeared in a video in which he called on Wagner's mercenaries to stop the rebellion.
An ally of Prigozhin – the two knew each other when Surovikin was commander of Russian forces in Syria – Surovikin has often been praised by Prigozhin, who has been a harsh critic of Russian commanders over the war in Ukraine.
Since that video, however, Surovikin has not been seen in public and there have been rumors that the Kremlin has arrested him after some military and security officials appeared to support Prigozhin's rebellion. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has called the insurgents "traitors" and described the rebellion as a "stab in the back".
On August 22, several Russian media reported that Surovikin had been relieved of his post as commander of the aerospace forces.
A day later, on August 23, a plane linked to Prigozhin crashed while flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Russian authorities later said DNA analysis confirmed Prigozhin was among the ten people who died in the plane crash. He was buried in St. Petersburg a few days later.
On September 4, a photograph of Surovikin was published. The photo was published by Ksenia Sobchak, a journalist whose father was Putin's boss in St. Petersburg in the 90s. In the photo, the general was dressed in civilian clothes and a woman, who has been identified as his wife, was standing next to him.
" General Sergei Surovikin has come out. Alive, well and at home with his family in Moscow. The photo was taken today ," she wrote on Telegram.
It was not possible to immediately verify the photo or when and where it was taken./ REL
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