The former commander of the Russian army, Sergei Surovikin, has not been seen since the mutiny of the Wagner group in the second half of June, and a member of parliament has indicated that the general is “resting”, reports the BBC.
Andrei Kartapolov, chair of the defence committee, has announced that General Surovikin is “unreachable”, thus raising speculations about his whereabouts. Unconfirmed information shows that Surovikin was detained for questioning about his possible involvement in the Wagnerian rebellion.
On the 24th of June, the Wagnerites staged a riot but stopped the march halfway to Moscow. Mercenaries were then offered the option of either joining the Russian regular army or going to serve in Belarus.
On Wednesday, the 12th of July, the Ministry of Defense of Russia informed that the group is concluding the transfer of weapons and military equipment, and more than 2,000 units have been returned.
Surovikin was last seen in a video posted during the mutiny.
In it, he called on the Wagnerians to stop the rebellion. A few days later, the media reported the general’s arrest, but this has not been followed by an official announcement of the arrest or the whereabouts of Surovikin.
Surovikin, known as “General Armageddon”, was appointed commander of Russian forces in Ukraine in October, but was replaced by Valery Gerasimov after only three months.
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