Russia’s top generals have disappeared from public view since a day-long uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries aimed at toppling Russia’s military leadership, amid President Vladimir Putin’s bid to reassert his power and unconfirmed reports of at least one arrest, Reuters said in a wide-ranging analysis. on Thursday

The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army, Valery Gerasimov, has not appeared in public or on state television since Saturday’s mutiny, when the head of Wagner’s mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded that Gerasimov be handed over to him.

Since June 9, he has not been mentioned in any press release of the Ministry of Defense, Agerpres notes.

According to Western military analysts, 67-year-old Gerasimov is the commander of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine and the owner of one of Russia’s three “nuclear briefcases.”

Also absent is General Serhiy Surovikin, dubbed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media for his aggressive tactics during the conflict in Syria, currently the deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing US officials, that he knew in advance of the mutiny started by Prigozhin and that Russian authorities were investigating whether he was complicit.

The Kremlin downplayed this information on Wednesday, saying that there was and will be a lot of speculation.

“General Armageddon” arrested?

The independent Russian newspaper The Moscow Times and a military blogger reported Surovikin’s arrest, while other military correspondents with a large following in Russia said he and other senior officers were being questioned about their possible role in the uprising.

Reuters said it could not confirm whether Surovikin had indeed been arrested.

Rybar, an influential Telegram channel run by a former Russian Defense Ministry press attaché, said that a purge was underway in Moscow.

He says the authorities are trying to remove military personnel who are believed to have shown a “lack of resolve” in putting down the insurgency, amid reports that some parts of the armed forces appear to have done little to stop Wagner’s fighters in the early stages. rebellion.

“Mass purge in the ranks of the armed forces”

“The armed rebellion of the “Wagner” PMC became the reason for a mass purge in the ranks of the armed forces,” Rybar said.

The decision, if confirmed, could change how Russia conducts its war in Ukraine, which it calls a “special military operation,” causing jitters in the military as Moscow tries to counter a counteroffensive.Ukrainian.

It could also strengthen or enhance the positions of other senior military and security forces seen as loyal to the regime.

The Ministry of Defense of Russia does not officially comment on what happened.

Shoigu, it’s safer at work

Some Russian and Western military and political analysts believe that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a longtime Putin ally whom Prigozhin wanted to remove along with Gerasimov because of his alleged incompetence, may now be more secure in the post.

“I think (Prygogin) actually expected something to work out with Shoigu and Gerasimov so that Putin would take his side,” Michael Kofman, a Russian-born American military expert at the think tank, said on Twitter at the Carnegie Endowment.

“Instead, his rebellion could have kept him in office, even though everyone knows he’s incompetent, he’s hated in the Russian Federation armed forces,” he says.

Viktor Zolotov, the head of Russia’s National Guard (Rosgvardiya), a former bodyguard of Putin, appears to be another beneficiary of last weekend’s events after publicly declaring that his men are ready to “resist to the death” to protect Moscow from Wagner.

He talked about the possibility of getting heavy weapons and tanks for his forces after the uprising.

General Surovikin was last seen on Saturday

Gerasimov was conspicuous by his absence when Putin thanked the military on Tuesday for preventing a civil war, unlike Shoigu, who has made several public appearances since then.

Surovikin, Gerasimov’s deputy, was last seen on Saturday when he appeared in a video calling on Prigozhin to end the rebellion. He was exhausted and it is not known if he was speaking under duress.

On Wednesday evening, Russian media and some bloggers reported that Surovikin was being held at the Lefortovo Detention Center (controlled by the FSB) in Moscow after his alleged arrest.

Oleksiy Venediktov, a well-connected journalist (Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov was among his “friends” before the war in Ukraine, no), said, without citing his sources, that his family has not been able to contact Surovikin since Saturday and that his bodyguards are also unreachable.

Prigozhin praised Surovikin

Prigozhin, who for months had fiercely criticized Shoigu and Gerasimov for their alleged incompetence in the war in Ukraine, often praised Surovikin, who is well respected in the military for his experience in the wars in Chechnya and Syria.

Surovikin, who was the commander of the Russian offensive in Ukraine before the appointment of Gerasimov, is considered by Western military analysts and some parts of the Ukrainian military to be an effective commander.

Russian military correspondents talked about him as a potential future defense minister.

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