The New York Times reported that General Sergey Surovikin had already known about Yevgeny Prigozhin’s planned coup before it happened, writes Reuters.
Surovokin is the deputy commander responsible for Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, and the US media New York Times published information on Tuesday, the 27th of June, that he had access to information about the Wagnerian march to Moscow.
The newspaper cites a meeting of US officials with intelligence services and reports that it is now being considered whether Surovikin helped Prigozhin plan the mutiny.
There are signs that other Russian generals might have supported the Wagnerites as well.
Reuters has not been able to confirm this information.
Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner group, went into exile in Belarus on Tuesday after the Wagnerian revolt and the march to Moscow swiftly stopped. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the country’s army for preventing a civil war.
Surovikin, dubbed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media, took command of hostilities in Ukraine in October. However, already in January, the Russian Defense Minister appointed Valery Gerasimov to the leadership, and Surovikin became his deputy.
Before the uprising,
Prigozhin accused Shoigu and Gerasimov of inaction for months and blamed them for failures on the battlefield.
Also, the owner of the Wagner group complained about the lack of state support for his fighters. Before Prigozhin assigned the fighters to the so-called “justice march”, Surovikin called on Wagner’s group to stop opposing the leadership of the Russian army and return to the bases.
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