Top Russian General Surovikin seen in pic for 1st time since Wagner mutiny

Top Russian General Surovikin seen in pic for 1st time since Wagner mutinySeptember 5, 2023

Moscow, Sep 5 (IANS) General Sergei Surovikin, Russia’s former commander in Ukraine who has not been seen in public since the failed Wagner mutiny in June, has appeared in a photo posted online, the media reported on Tuesday.

Surovikin was last seen on June 24 when he released a video pleading for Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the mercenary group who was killed in a plane crash last month, to stop his failed rebellion against the Russian military leadership.

Meanwhile, the viral photo shows a man wearing sunglasses walking arm in arm with a red-haired woman who resembles the General’s wife, Anna.

“General Sergei Surovikin is out. Alive, healthy, at home, with his family, in Moscow. Photo taken today,” well-known Russian media personality Ksenia Sobchak posted on Telegram on Monday.

Also in a Telegram post, Russian journalist Alexei Venediktov said: “General Surovikin is at home with his family. He is on leave and available to the Defence Ministry.”

After his disappearance, media reports had speculated that Surovikin was arrested.

There has been no official confirmation of his whereabouts so far, the BBC reported.

Surovikin is a decorated commander of the Russian Air Force and became nicknamed “General Armageddon” for his ruthless tactics bombing cities in Syria.

The general was put in charge of Russian forces in Ukraine in October but was removed three months later.

–IANS

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