According to two U.S. officials and a source close to the Russian Defense Ministry, a prominent Russian general who was detained following the mutiny led by mercenary tycoon Yevgeny V. Prigozhin has been released. The general in question, Sergei Surovikin, was known for his ruthless tactics in Syria and was considered an ally of Mr. Prigozhin. He disappeared from public view in June after the mercenary leader and members of his Wagner group took action against the Russian military leadership.
American officials claim that General Surovikin was aware of the uprising beforehand, and shortly after it began, the Russian authorities released a video showing an uneasy General Surovikin urging the Wagner fighters to stand down. While it is unclear if any restrictions or limitations have been imposed on his movements by Russian authorities, it appears that the general has been released from formal detention.
The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitri S. Peskov, declined to comment on whether General Surovikin is currently under investigation during a briefing with reporters. The source close to the Russian Defense Ministry revealed that General Surovikin was released after the death of Mr. Prigozhin in a plane crash last month. The general still holds his rank but has no further career prospects after being officially removed as the head of Russia’s aerospace forces.
On Monday, General Surovikin made his first appearance since the mutiny in a photograph posted on social media by a Russian news outlet run by Ksenia Sobchak. The photo shows the general, dressed in civilian clothes, walking outside with his wife in front of a wall covered in ivy. Details about the location are not immediately clear.
A post on Ksenia Sobchak’s Telegram messaging app channel confirmed General Sergei Surovikin’s release and stated that he is now at home in Moscow with his family. Another prominent figure, Aleksei A. Venediktov, confirmed this information and mentioned that the general is currently on leave and at the disposal of the Ministry of Defense.
General Surovikin previously held a top position overseeing operations in Ukraine from October to January, during which he orchestrated the withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson and implemented a defensive strategy, including the construction of the “Surovikin line” defenses. Mr. Prigozhin had a connection to General Surovikin due to Wagner fighters serving alongside Russian forces in Syria, and he praised the general’s appointment as one of the most capable commanders in the Russian military.
However, in January, the Kremlin replaced General Surovikin with Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov as the commander overseeing forces in Ukraine. This marked the beginning of a decline in power for Mr. Prigozhin, who clashed with General Gerasimov and the Russian defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, as Wagner forces suffered heavy losses in their attempts to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
The tensions between Mr. Prigozhin and the Russian defense leadership ultimately led to the short-lived mutiny that aimed to remove the two defense leaders, not President Vladimir V. Putin. In July, as speculations regarding General Surovikin’s whereabouts circulated, a top lawmaker mentioned that the general was simply “taking a rest.”
Mr. Prigozhin met his demise on August 23 in a plane crash in the Tver region of Russia. U.S. officials suspect that an explosion aboard the aircraft caused the crash, though the Kremlin vehemently denies any involvement of President Putin in the incident.
Valeriya Safronova contributed reporting for this article.
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