Despite the Wagner uprising: that is why Putin cannot punish General Surovikin

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Punishing the prominent Russian general Sergei Surovikin for his involvement in the mutiny of Wagner’s private army would, according to the British, be risky for the Russian leadership. “While Surovikin is best known in the West for his ruthless reputation, he is one of the most respected senior officers in the Russian military,” the British Ministry of Defense said in its daily intelligence update on Wednesday. “Any official punishment against him should be divisive.”

The British ministry stressed that Surovikin, the chief of the Russian air and space forces and former commander-in-chief in the offensive war against Ukraine, has not been seen in public since the June 23-24 Wagner uprising. According to British estimates, Surovikin was a liaison with the Ministry of Defense for Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.

‘Reports on Surovikin’s arrest cannot be confirmed’

The Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Yunus-bek Yevkurov (59) was recently absent. He was filmed talking to Prigozhin as Wagner units occupied the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and their headquarters without a fight.

“Reports of Surovikin’s arrest cannot be confirmed, but authorities are likely to be suspicious of his longstanding association with Wagner, dating back to his 2017 service in Syria,” the British ministry said. The fact that senior officers are now under suspicion shows “how Prigozhin’s failed uprising has exacerbated existing fault lines within the Russian national security community”.

The British Ministry of Defense publishes daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian offensive war 16 months ago. Moscow accuses London of disinformation. (SDA)

Source: Blick