Top soldier arrested? – Putin’s revenge hits “General Armageddon”

Surovikin is the deputy commander of the Russian military operation in Ukraine and has been dubbed “General Armageddon” in the press for his martial actions in the Syrian war. Peskov was also evasive when asked if President Vladimir Putin still trusted Surovikin. “He is the commander-in-chief and works with the defense minister and chief of staff.” Questions about structural entities within the Department of Defense should be directed to the Department of Defense.

Surovikin has not been seen in public since Saturday, when the Wagner mercenaries ended their brief uprising. A video was released that day in which he appealed to mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to stop the mutiny. Surovikin looked exhausted in this video. It was also unclear whether he spoke under duress. On Wednesday evening, there were unconfirmed reports from Russian media and bloggers that Surovikin was being held and interrogated at the Lefortovo internment camp in Moscow after his arrest.

According to the New York Times, Surovikin had been given advance notice of the uprising. Citing US officials, the paper said the Washington government is trying to find out whether Surovikin helped Prigozhin plan the uprising. According to information from US intelligence, there are also indications that other generals may have supported the mercenary. Peskow described the report as speculation.

Rybar, an influential Telegram channel run by a former spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry, said a purge was underway. After that, the authorities tried to single out those military personnel who were said to have “showed a lack of determination” in crushing the uprising. According to reports, parts of the armed forces did little to stop the mercenaries. “The armed insurrection of the private military company Wagner has become the pretext for a massive purge of the Russian armed forces,” said Rybar.

If confirmed, it could change Russian warfare in Ukraine and spark domestic unrest as Russia tries to thwart a Ukrainian counter-offensive. This would also have consequences for the balance of power within the security forces: those who are considered loyal can consolidate or even improve their position.

That could also apply to Shoigu, who has been defense minister since 2012 and whom mercenary boss Prigozhin and his chief of staff Gerasimov sought to overthrow for incompetence. Now Putin’s longtime confidant might actually be more firmly in the saddle than before. Prigozhin probably expected something to be done about Shoigu and Gerasimov, for Putin to act on his behalf, Michael Kofman, a Russian military specialist on the Carnegie Endowment expert forum, writes on Twitter. “Instead, his mutiny has allowed them to remain in office despite being widely recognized as incompetent and widely loathed in the armed forces of the Russian Federation.”

Another beneficiary could be Viktor Solotov, head of the National Guard and once Putin’s bodyguard. He had publicly stated that his men were prepared to defend Moscow to the death against the advancing Wagner mercenaries. He has spoken of the possibility of procuring heavy weapons and armor for his troops after the mutiny. The lightly armed National Guard is the defense force of the Interior Ministry and reports directly to Putin.

In the case of Gerasimov it seems to be different. When Putin thanked the army for averting civil war on Tuesday, the chief of staff – unlike Shoigu – was not in sight. Gerasimov was appointed chief of staff and deputy defense minister by Putin in 2012 – three days after Shoigu was appointed defense minister. In January, he appointed Gerasimov commander of the combined forces in the offensive war against Ukraine – still called a “special military operation” by Russia. Gerasimov took over from Surovikin, who had only been given this position in October. Surovikin became Gerasimov’s deputy.