A Russian general knew that mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin planned to launch an armed uprising against Russia’s military leadership, US officials told the New York Times, according to Reuters.

The US officials quoted by the publication are trying to find out whether the general helped the founder of the paramilitary group to plan the uprising and whether other Russian military supported the rebels.

Prigozhin is in exile in Belarus, where he arrived on Tuesday under a deal that ended a brief uprising by his Wagner fighters over the weekend, while President Vladimir Putin praised his armed forces for averting civil war.

Current and former US officials have speculated that Prigozhin would not have launched the rebellion if he did not believe that others in key positions would support him, leading them to believe that the mercenary leader had internal support to carry out the rebellion.

General Surovikin betrayed Putin

General Serhiy Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon”, the former commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, is the one who, according to American officials, helped Prigozhin plan his rebellion aimed at decapitating the Russian military leadership.

If the commander-in-chief’s involvement in the weekend uprising is confirmed, it would mean that the Russian government is deeply divided.

The New York Times reported that US officials also said there were indications that other Russian generals were supporting Prigozhin.

The uprising, which lasted only a day, highlighted the weaknesses of Putin’s leadership and showed how unprepared the Russian Defense Ministry is for an attack, the NYT notes.

“General Armageddon”, replaced by Gerasimov

Surovikin, dubbed “General Armageddon” by the Russian press, headed operations in Ukraine in October.

But in January, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov in his place, and Surovikin remained his deputy.

Before the beginning of the uprising, Prigozhin lashed out at Shoigu and Gerasimov, blaming them for the campaign’s failures and the lack of military support for Wagner’s fighters.

Surovikin urged Wagner’s group to stop opposing the military leadership and return to their bases, just before Prigozhin sent his soldiers on a so-called “march for justice” to Moscow.

Having set out on the weekend from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, Prigozhin suddenly canceled the march 200 kilometers from Moscow.

“General Armageddon”, criticized for Russia’s failures in Ukraine

Gerasimov, like Shoigu, faced harsh criticism from pro-war military bloggers for Russia’s numerous failures on the battlefield and for its failure to secure victory in a campaign the Kremlin expected to win in short order.

Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian press for his brutality, was the one who proposed on November 9 to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to withdraw Moscow’s troops from the west bank of the Dnieper and leave the city of Kherson, where they were under dangerous influence.

A 56-year-old veteran of the wars in Chechnya and Syria who was personally decorated by President Vladimir Putin, Surovikin argued that the withdrawal, officially completed two days later, would allow Moscow to salvage equipment and redeploy forces – estimated by the US to be up to 30,000. troops — in offensive operations on other fronts.

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