Russian General Sergei Surovikin has been reportedly arrested for allegedly having knowledge about Yevgeny Prigozhin’s attempted coup over the weekend.
The defence ministry is yet to officially comment on the alleged arrest of “General Armageddon”, who has not been seen in public since last Saturday, when the Wagner chief launched an armed rebellion against Vladimir Putin.
“Apparently, he [Surovikin] chose Prigozhin’s side during the uprising” and they have got hold of him, a source was quoted by Moscow Times as saying.
Adding fuel to the rumours, the Kremlin admitted on Thursday it did not know Mr Surovikin’s whereabouts and appeared to dodge questions on whether he stil had the trust of Mr Putin, as it referred questions to the silent defence ministry.
Meanwhile, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said he persuaded Mr Putin not to “wipe out” Wagner mercenary chief, in response to the shortlived mutiny.
“I also understood: a brutal decision had been made (and it was the undertone of Putin‘s address) to wipe out” the mutineers, he said, according to Belarusian state media.
