In Russia, all signs point to Madonna having to postpone the tour after several days in intensive care

That this would happen was as certain as the blessing of the Orthodox Patriarch Cyril: Vladimir Putin will not let Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s coup attempt pass without a campaign of revenge. According to a recent report from the “Moscow Times”, the infamous “General Armageddon”, Sergei Surovikin, is in custody in Moscow.

So, of all people, Surovikin, who was one of the few military men called on Prigozhin in a video on Saturday to stop, and the Wagner mercenaries to end the uprising. On Tuesday, the New York Times caused a global sensation when it denounced Surovikin as a co-organizer of the coup. The leading American newspaper relied on information from intelligence services.

Other Russian voices in the social networks report that a regular wave of purges has gripped the Russian army and leading officers are being questioned by the secret services about how they behaved during Prigozhin’s march on Moscow. According to unconfirmed information from the weekend, four in 10 members of law enforcement agencies failed to show up to carry out Operation Fortress, which called on the Kremlin to counter Saturday’s coup in Moscow.

Externally, Putin has celebrated great solidarity and closeness with the military in recent days. On several occasions he publicly praised his troops for their loyalty and fulfillment of their duties. Surovikin’s arrest could now be the prelude to Putin’s behind-the-scenes vendetta. His deputy, Air Force Lieutenant General Andrei Yudin, is also said to be in custody. The Kremlin has so far officially denied any involvement in the coup by Surovikin.

A plan to take out the able officer?

Close observers of Surovikin’s video call noted that the general was not wearing any insignia on his uniform when the two-minute tape was recorded. This could be an indication that “General Armageddon” was in early Saturday custody as an accomplice and made his call under outside pressure.

But it is also conceivable that Surovikin fell victim to a clever intrigue that began with the publication of the New York Times. Unlike Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of Staff Gerassimov, the brutally ruthless officer who commanded the masterful withdrawal of 30,000 Russian troops who were nearly encircled at Kherson last fall is regarded as a capable force leader.

Earlier in the year, however, he fell out of favor with Putin and was ousted as a commander in Ukraine; presumably because he refused to begin the then-failed Russian winter offensive with insufficient troops, preferring instead to operate defensively. In that respect, both the Ukrainians and Shoigu and Gerasimov could have every interest in eliminating the dangerous competitor permanently.

With all the excitement of the past few hours over “General Armageddon” – he got his nickname because of his war crimes in Syria – it is almost forgotten that there has been no trace of Chief of Staff Valeri Gerasimov since Saturday. It was initially said that he had been captured by the Wagner mercenaries in Rostov during the uprising. Meanwhile, this version is considered unlikely, otherwise it would almost certainly have been awarded as a trophy by his nemesis Prigozchin.

So his whereabouts can only be speculated. Of the top Russian military, only Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu seems to be firmly in the saddle at the moment. Russian media have had the 68-year-old accompanied by Putin several times since the weekend. (aargauerzeitung.ch)