Top Russian generals Valery Gerasimov and General Sergei Surovikin have reportedly vanished from public view after the aborted mutiny led by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, said reports.
While 67-year-old Gerasimov has not appeared in public or on state TV since the rebellion on Saturday, Surovkin too has not been mentioned in a defence ministry press release since June 9, reported Reuters. While leading the armed rebellion, Prigozhin had demanded that Gerasimov, who is said to be one of the holders of Russia's three 'nuclear briefcases', be handed over to him.
While Gerasimov was nowhere to be seen when Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked the Army for averting a civil war, Shoigu, another of Progozhin's targets, has made several public appearances since.
As per a report by New York Times, Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russia's military operations in Ukraine, knew of Prigozhin's rebellion and had silently supported it. Surovikin is nicknamed 'General Armageddon' by the Russian press for his aggressive tactics in the Syrian conflict.
Though Russia did not respond to reports of Surovkin's involvement, The Moscow Times has reported citing unnamed sources that Surovikin has been arrested "in the context of Prigozhin." The report added that Defense Ministry sources are yet to comment on the arrest.
"The situation with him was not OK. For the authorities. I can't say anything more," one of the sources told Moscow Times.
Rybar, an influential channel on the Telegram messaging application run by a former Russian defence ministry press officer, too claimed Kremlin has begun taking action. He said the authorities were trying to weed out military personnel who allegedly displayed "a lack of decisiveness" in putting down the mutiny. "The armed insurgency by the Wagner private military company has become a pretext for a massive purge in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces," Reuters quoted Rybar.
There were also reports in Russian media that Surovkin is being held in Moscow's Lefortovo detention facility after being arrested. Alexei Venediktov, editor-in-chief of the shuttered Ekho Moskvy radio station, wrote on Telegram that Surovikin has not been in contact with his family for three days and that his guards are not responsive.
