Rob Lee, the American military analyst, said Wagner fought troops technically loyal to Surovikin over the weekend. Most analysts in Russia and abroad were sceptical that Surovikin, a loyalist who had taken on command of Russian forces while they were under heavy pressure from a Ukrainian counterattack, would participate in a full-blown mutiny. Surovikin might have been keen on change in higher command but he would not want to have been involved in a coup – which I don’t think was Prigozhin’s original intention either.”įreedman said it was likely that Surovikin was in Rostov at the time of Prigozhin’s mutiny, given that he and Gen Vladimir Alexeyev, who was seen with Prigozhin on Friday, released similar videos calling for unity and support for Putin from the same room that day. “It all depends on what you think Prigozhin was trying to achieve. “We know there are divisions about how the war is being fought and I suspect Surovikin shares the contempt for the amateurishness of Shoigu and Gerasimov,” said Sir Lawrence Freedman, an emeritus professor of war studies at King’s College London. The reports of Surovikin’s knowledge of the plot, if confirmed, could help explain a lacklustre military response to the mutiny. The other failed goal of the mutiny might have been to abduct the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and the head of Russia’s armed forces, Valery Gerasimov, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. US officials briefed on the intelligence said they did not know if Surovikin was actively involved in the plot, which culminated in an aborted march on Moscow of several Wagner convoys with heavy weapons. However, the New York Times, citing western intelligence sources, reported on Wednesday that Surovikin had prior knowledge of Prigozhin’s armed mutiny, in which his Wagner mercenaries captured the city of Rostov and moved on Moscow before cutting an amnesty deal. The enemy is just waiting for the internal political situation to escalate in our country.” “We are of the same blood, we are warriors. “We fought together with you, took risks, we won together,” Surovikin said. When Prigozhin launched his uprising, Surovikin made an unambiguous statement against it and in support of the Russian government late on Friday. The well-publicised links between Surovikin and Prigozhin have fuelled rumours that Surovikin may be purged or put under investigation for supporting the mutiny.
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