3 days ago
Russia's ‘General Armageddon' Seen in Algeria Years After Failed Mutiny: UK
A Russian military officer once key to Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine who had not been seen in public in an official capacity for nearly two years, has been spotted in Algeria, according to U.K. intelligence officials.
In a post on social media, U.K. intelligence reported Sergei Surovikin attended a military parade in the North African country.
Surovikin, whose reputation for acting brutally earned him the nickname of "General Armageddon" had largely disappeared from public view following a failed June 2023 mutiny and march on Moscow by Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, with whom he was closely associated.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
Reports of Surovikin's arrest following the failed mutiny were never confirmed by Russian authorities but his appearance in Algeria raises questions about his current role in the military and Moscow's footprint in Africa.
In its update on Tuesday, the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence said that a "notably thinner" Surovikin appeared in Russian embassy photographs at a Victory Day event in Algeria on May 9.
This was probably his first public appearance in an official role since 2023 and he is likely in the North African country as head of military specialists at the Russian embassy there, U.K. defense officials said.
Surovikin is a former commander of Russian forces in Ukraine and served as commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces. He had been linked to Prigozhin, who had been a vehement critic of Moscow's conduct in the war in Ukraine.
Prigozhin led his Wagner group of mercenaries in a mutiny which saw them stop short of Moscow in a move denounced as "treason" by Putin. U.K. intelligence said Tuesday Russian authorities were probably suspicious of Surovikin's association with Wagner dating back to Moscow's intervention in the Syrian civil war in 2017.
After Prigozhin died in a plane crash for which the Kremlin has denied responsibility, there were unconfirmed reports that Surovikin had been arrested and detained.
Russian social media users had reported in September 2023 that Surovikin had been appointed to a new post of some kind in Algeria, although nothing had been officially confirmed.
That month, investigative journalist Christo Grozev posted images from Wagner-linked social media channels of Surovikin meeting with local officials in Algeria saying that he had "kind of been rehabilitated."
U.K. Defense Ministry: "Sergey Surovikin, former commander of the Russian group of forces in Ukraine, is reportedly carrying out a role as 'head of a group of Russian military specialists' at the Russian embassy in Algeria."
Speculation over Surovikin's fate grew after references to him were removed from the Russian defense ministry's website but a more public presence in Algeria may raise questions over whether he will take on a more prominent role in Russia's military.
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