Speculation grew on June 28 about the arrest of General Sergei Surovikin, commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces and deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, following the failed coup by Wagner tycoon Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The independent daily The Moscow Times, citing sources close to the Russian Defense Ministry , said on June 28 that Mr. Surovikin was detained on June 25, a day after Mr. Prigozhin agreed to withdraw his forces from Wagner-controlled areas in Russia and return to field camps.
Previously, the US newspaper The New York Times reported on June 27 that Mr. Surovikin knew in advance that Mr. Prigozhin was planning a rebellion against the Russian military leadership.
It is unclear whether other Russian military leaders knew about the rebellion in advance, but US officials believe Wagner would not have marched to Moscow to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin unless he believed he had help, the Times reported.
Russian state news agency TASS reported on June 28 that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed speculation and rumors in some media that the Deputy Commander of the Russian Joint Forces Group in Ukraine, Sergey Surovikin, allegedly knew about the armed mutiny in advance.
“I think that now there will be a lot of rumors, speculations about this (armed mutiny). I think this is one of such examples,” Mr. Peskov told reporters when asked to comment on such reports.
Russian officials have not confirmed the arrest of the senior officer, but unnamed officials told The Moscow Times that details surrounding Mr. Surovikin are sensitive.
In fact, General Surovikin was one of the first to publicly condemn Prigozhin's mutiny, and one of the Russian fighters shot down by Wagner forces en route to Moscow belonged to him.
Mr Surovikin - dubbed "General Armageddon" in the West - commanded Russia's military campaign in Ukraine from October 2022 to January 2023, until he was replaced by Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Mr Surovikin is currently serving as Mr Gerasimov's deputy .
Minh Duc (According to Business Insider, GZero Media, TASS)
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