Russian General Sergei Surovikin, the liaison between the Wagner Group and the Kremlin, knew of the plans for last Saturday’s uprising, the US newspaper The New York Times reported Wednesday. However, Moscow has already said that this is pure speculation.
The newspaper, citing US authorities, assured that US intelligence services are trying to understand what support Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had at Russian army headquarters for the uprising that brought his forces 200 kilometers from Moscow.
US authorities admit the possibility that Prigozhin had the help of the military chief of Russian forces in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, but the Kremlin has already responded to this information by saying it is nothing more than media speculation.
“There has been and will be much speculation about the uprising. This is another example of that speculation,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
According to The New York Times, US officials have also found evidence that other Russian generals may have also supported Prigozhin’s rebellion, which he said was pursuing a change in the leadership of the Defense Department.
If Surovikin was involved in the uprising, it would be further evidence of a process of infighting within the Russian military leadership, indicating a deeper rift between Prigozhin’s supporters and Putin’s top military advisers: Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov.
However, the New York Times recalls that US authorities are interested in releasing information that undermines the prestige of Surovikin, whom they consider the most able and ruthless Russian general in the invasion of Ukraine.
Source: DN
