In the midst of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Russian general in command of the southern front and deputy commander of all Russian forces in Ukraine “is resting and is not available for now.” This was said yesterday in Moscow by Deputy Andrei Kartapolov, Chairman of the Duma Defense Committee. Such relaxation seems inappropriate under the circumstances, but when it comes to General Sergei Surovikin, everything is better understood.
A Russian media reported yesterday that Surovikin “was detained by the FSB on suspicion of participation in the organization of the rebellion, but has not yet been charged with the facts,” and that in two weeks he has not communicated with his family. The aforementioned rebellion is, naturally, that of the Wagner mercenary group and its leader, Yevgueni Prigozhin, on June 23 and 24. Since then, Surovikin has not been seen. Rumors of his arrest began immediately, barely mitigated by the version that he would be vacationing in the Caucasus and by his daughter’s statement that “nothing has happened to him.” According to Russian media, the general, who enjoys prestige among military commanders, may not be in custody, but he is forced to remain silent and not be seen.
Surovikin was commander-in-chief of the Russian forces in Ukraine between October 2022 and January 2023, when the chief of staff, General Valeri Gerasimov, took over directly. By the way, Guerasimov was not seen from the beginning of June until Monday, when a video was released in which he appeared. He also did not appear after the Wagner rebellion.
These absences are all the more notorious after the Kremlin’s revelation that Putin received Yevgeny Prigozhin – and his commanders – five days after the revolt, just when his friend Surovikin was no longer seen.
Not all Russian generals disappear in the same way. Another deputy and also a general, Andrei Gurulyov, confirmed on television that Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, deputy commander of the southern military district, died in Berdyansk, a coastal city and one of the possible targets of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Tsokov, according to other sources, would have been the victim of a long-range Storm Shadow missile, manufactured by a European consortium, one of the cutting-edge weapons received by Kyiv. Another of these missiles ended last June with General Sergei Goriachev, the first Russian high command to die since the start of the counteroffensive and the seventh confirmed general since the start of the invasion, although some sources count at least a dozen dead generals. .
The whereabouts of Yevgeny Prigozhin, meanwhile, remain unknown, but yesterday the Defense Ministry announced that the agreements following his rebellion are being honored and that the Wagners have handed over more than 2,000 pieces of equipment and heavy weapons, including tanks and Grad rocket systems. , in addition to 20,000 individual weapons and 2,500 tons of ammunition.
