FLASH
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Amid President Vladimir Putin's efforts to regain power, Russia's most prominent generals have disappeared from public view after a failed mercenary rebellion aimed at overthrowing the head of state, as British news agency Reuters writes. .
Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Valeriy Gerasimov has not appeared in public or on state television since the Wagner uprising ended on Saturday. Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin initially demanded Gerasimov's surrender. Since June 9, Gerasimov has not been mentioned in the press releases of the Ministry of Defense. He is the top commander of Russian forces in Ukraine and holds one of Russia's three "nuclear briefcases," according to some Western military analysts. Nor was General Sergei Surovikin, dubbed "General Armageddon" by Russian media because of his aggressive tactics in Syria.
The disappearance of Surovikin
He is the deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine. The New York Times reported Tuesday, based on a US intelligence briefing, that Surovikin knew Wagner's mutiny was about to happen, so authorities were investigating whether he was an accomplice. US officials told Reuters that Surovikin supported Prigozhin, but Western intelligence services did not know for sure whether he was interfering in Wagner's rebellion. The Russian-language newspaper Moscow Times and a military blogger reported Surovikin's arrest, while several other military journalists said he and other officers were being interrogated by the FSB security service to test their loyalty. Surovikin, deputy Gerasimov was last seen on Saturday when he appeared in a video asking Prigozhin to end his rebellion.
The purge of the generals
Prigozhin, who has criticized Gerasimov and Shoigu for months over their alleged incompetence in the war against Ukraine, has often praised Surovik. In fact, he is considered an effective general and has been mentioned quite a few times by Russian war journalists as a possible future defense minister. However, the influential Rybar Telegram channel, run by a former press officer of the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced that the purge had begun in Russia. Rybar says the authorities are trying to eliminate military personnel believed to have shown a "lack of resolve" in putting down Wagner and Prigozhin's uprising. "The armed rebellion of the private military company Wagner became a pretext for a massive purge in the ranks of the Russian armed forces," writes Rybar. Such action, if confirmed,
Winners and losers
Some Russian and Western military and political analysts believe that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a longtime Putin ally whom Prigozhin wanted to remove, may now take advantage of the situation. Michael Kofman, a military expert on Russia, said: "Instead, his defection may have ensured Shoigu's continued tenure, despite being universally recognized as incompetent and hated." General Viktor Zolotov, head of the National Guard and one-time Putin bodyguard, appears to be another winner. He said publicly that his men were ready to die to protect Moscow from Wagner. He talked about the possibility of getting heavy weapons and tanks for his forces after the rebellion. Gerasimov was absent on Tuesday when Putin thanked the military for preventing a civil war, unlike Shoigu. who has gone public several times since then. So Lawrence Freedman, professor emeritus of war studies at King's College London, said Surovikin's departure, if true, could destabilize Russia's war effort more than Saturday's uprising, "especially if other associates of Prigozhin/Surovikin begin to be purged".
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