Russian General Surovikin, Commander in Ukraine War, Arrested for Alleged Involvement in Prigozhin Rebellion

Military cracks down on anti-Putin faction... "Large-scale purge begins"

Sergei Surovikin, the Deputy Commander of the Russian Armed Forces who served as the Commander of the Russian Armed Forces in the Ukraine war, has reportedly been arrested and detained on suspicion of participating in the Wagner Group military rebellion. Observers suggest that a large-scale purge began after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group and the main figure behind the military rebellion, left for Belarus, triggering a widespread investigation within the Russian military.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 28th (local time), the Moscow Times, a Russian local media outlet, cited multiple anonymous sources from the Russian Ministry of Defense, reporting that "General Surovikin was arrested on charges of involvement in the Wagner military rebellion." According to some sources, General Surovikin is said to have sided with Prigozhin during the rebellion period, the Moscow Times reported.

The rumors of General Surovikin's arrest are spreading widely both inside and outside Russia. Vladimir Romanov, a well-known Russian military blogger, claimed that General Surovikin was detained on the 25th, the day after the Wagner rebellion was quelled. He stated, "General Surovikin is currently imprisoned at the Lefortovo prison near Moscow." General Surovikin has not appeared in public for three days and is reportedly out of contact with his family as well.

Whether General Surovikin actually participated in the rebellion remains uncertain, but American and Western media have previously reported suspicions that he was aware of Prigozhin's rebellion plans in advance and attempted to participate to some extent. The day before, the New York Times (NYT) cited senior U.S. officials, reporting that "Surovikin knew about the Wagner Group's rebellion plans in advance, and U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating whether he actually assisted in carrying out the rebellion."

General Surovikin was appointed as the Commander of the Russian Armed Forces in the Ukraine war in October last year. Within Russia, he is highly regarded as a brilliant commander who adopted effective defensive strategies against the Ukrainian army's offensives. Internationally, he is nicknamed the "Armageddon General" due to his ruthless operations, including indiscriminate bombings of civilians.

Having earned considerable achievements on various battlefields such as the Syrian civil war, General Surovikin is known to be one of the figures closely monitored by the Putin regime. Earlier this year in January, he was dismissed from his position as Commander and demoted to Deputy Commander, and it is reported that he has been under surveillance by Russian intelligence agencies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.