A top Russian official has addressed the whereabouts of a senior general who has not been seen in public since the Wagner mutiny.
Andrei Kartapolov, head of the state Duma defence committee, said that general Sergei Surovikin is “resting” and “not available right now”.
It follows reports that Wagner boss Yevgeny Priogozhin has likely been murdered or incarcerated after leading a failed rebellion against the Kremlin regime.
General Surovikin is known to have a close relationship with Mr Priogozhin who last month ordered his soldiers to march on Moscow in what the Kremlin referred to as an aborted mutiny.
The incident formed part of an ongoing feud with Russia’s top military brass about its strategy in the Ukraine war.
Media reports claim Mr Surovikin was being interrogated by security forces at an unknown location over his connection to warlord Mr Priogozhin.
However, the British Ministry of Defence suggested Mr Surovikin had been “sidelined following the mutiny”, the Guardian reported.
Founder of Wagner private mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhi— (via REUTERS)
The ministry cited the “increased public profile” of his deputy Viktor Afzalov as evidence of why he has disappeared from public view.
In a televised appearance, Afzalov was shown briefing chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov on July 10, according to the ministry.
“Afzalov’s increased public profile, while Surovikin’s whereabouts remains unclear, adds further weight to the hypothesis that Surovikin has been sidelined following the mutiny,” it said.
Meanwhile, Russian major general Ivan Popov, who was the commander of Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army fighting near Zaporizhzhia, has said that he was fired as a commander after telling his superiors “the truth” about the dire situation on the frontlines in Ukraine.
Maj Gen Popov told his troops in an audio statement that he was dismissed after a meeting with the top military brass in what he described as a “treacherous” stab in the back to the Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
He added that the military leadership was angered by his frank talk about the challenges faced by his forces.
“The top officers apparently saw me as a source of threat and rapidly issued an order to get rid of me, which was signed by the defence minister in just one day,” he said.
