Sergej Surovikin arrested in Russia – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

He has had great confidence in the Russian military, including as the former supreme leader of the war in Ukraine. Now the general Sergej Surovikin has been arrested in Russia, several sources tell the independent Russian newspaper Moscow Times. The persons must be closely linked to the Russian Ministry of Defence, according to the newspaper. The New York Times has spoken to sources who believe the general knew about the rebel plans of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. After the case to the New York Times was published that Surovikin should have known about the plans for rebellion, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied: – There will be a lot of speculation and gossip, and so on, around such events. I think this is an example of this. “General Armageddon” The 56-year-old general became commander-in-chief of all Russian forces in Ukraine in October 2022. In January this year, he was appointed head of Russia’s space defence. Dubbed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media, he is known to be a brutal warrior. Surovikin has known Prigozhin for a long time, since the Syrian war. Both the regular Russian army and the mercenaries of the Wagner Group were stationed there. When Surovikin was appointed commander of the forces in Ukraine, Prigozhin referred to him as “the most competent commander in the Russian army”. Norwegian expert on arrest: – Not surprised – I am not surprised that he has been arrested. He had a good relationship with Prigozhin. They have partly agreed on a lot in this war, says Tom Røseth to news. He follows Russia closely as the main teacher in intelligence at the Defense Staff School. Røseth points out that Surovikin is now the second-in-command in the military leadership of the war in Ukraine. The expert explains that there are close connections between the generals who lead Russia’s warfare in Ukraine, the Russian military intelligence (GRU), and the mercenaries of the Wagner group. In addition, GRU is also well integrated with the Wagner management. At the same time, GRU is subject to the defense leadership, says Røseth. – They give orders down the system to the military intelligence (GRU) about what information they should obtain. Here there is a symbiosis and direct order lines between GRU and Wagner, explains Røseth. Røseth says one can thus ask the question whether they knew, but remained silent. But in any case, they should have understood what was going on, he says. – It may be that Surovikin knew about it, and did nothing. If he hasn’t known anything, that’s strange. And if he has not had information to try to stop Prigozjin, it is suspicious, says Røseth. Tom Røseth is head teacher in intelligence at the Norwegian Defense Staff School. Photo: Dan Henrik Klausen / news



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