by Andrew Osborn
LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) – Russia’s top military generals have disappeared from public view following the failed mutiny attempt by Wagner mercenaries to overthrow military command in Moscow, as President Vladimir Putin wants to reassert his authority, while at least one arrest has been reported, but not confirmed.
Valery Gerasimov, the army chief of staff, has not been seen in public or on television since the boss of the paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigojine, asked during the mutiny on Saturday that Gerasimov be sent to him handed over.
Furthermore, Valery Gerasimov, 67, has not been mentioned in Russian Defense Ministry press releases since June 9.
Commander of the “special military operation” in Ukraine, in the words of the Kremlin to describe what Kyiv and the West denounce as an invasion, Valery Gerasimov would be the holder of one of the three “nuclear briefcases”, according to Western analysts.
Appointed last October as head of military operations in Ukraine before being “downgraded” to the rank of deputy to Gerasimov earlier this year, General Sergei Surovikin has also disappeared from public view.
According to the New York Times, citing US officials briefed on the matter by the intelligence services, Sergei Surovikin was aware of Wagner’s mutiny plan. The Russian authorities are said to have opened an investigation to determine possible complicity on his part.
The Kremlin brushed off that assumption, saying Wednesday that there were and would continue to be a lot of rumors and gossip.
The Moscow Times and a military blogger reported that Sergei Surovikin was arrested, while military correspondents reported that Surovikin and other high-ranking officers were being interrogated to determine if they had played a role in the mutiny .
Reuters could not determine whether Sergei Surovikin was arrested.
“MASSIVE PURGE”
Run by a former executive of the Russian Ministry of Defense press service, the Rybar account on the Telegram messenger said a purge was underway, with the aim of removing those who lacked the judgment and authority to curb Wagner’s mutiny.
According to some information, part of the Russian troops would have been passive in the face of the progress of the mercenaries.
“The armed insurrection by the private military company Wagner has become a pretext for a massive purge in the ranks of the Russian armed forces,” Rybar wrote.
Such a step, if confirmed, could affect the way Russia carries out its offensive in Ukraine and cause tremors within the Russian military command, even as Moscow strives to stem the counter-offensive launched by Kyiv .
No comment was made by the Russian Defense Ministry.
This “purge” could also consolidate or push up the chessboard of the representatives considered to be the most loyal.
According to some Russian and Western analysts, Defense Minister Sergei Choigou, a long-time ally of Vladimir Putin and in the crosshairs of Yevgeny Prigojine, would now be confirmed in his duties.
When speaking earlier this week to thank the army for averting a civil war, Vladimir Putin did not mention Valery Gerasimov.
Seen for the last time Saturday in a video asking Yevgeny Prigojine to stop his mutiny, Sergei Surovikin would be detained in a Moscow prison, according to some Russian media and blogs.
Unlike Sergei Choigou and Valery Gerasimov, targets of repeated criticism from Yevgeny Prigojine in recent months, Sergei Surovikin has been regularly greeted by Wagner’s boss, on the strength of his experience in Chechnya and Syria. Observers saw him as a potential defense minister in the future.
(Report Andrew Osborn; French version Jean Terzian)
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