There are many doubts about what is happening in Russia. So much so that even the president of the United States said it was “difficult to say” whether Vladimir Putin is weaker today than before the Wagner group’s “march for justice”, the effort held 200 kilometers from Moscow on Saturday after mediation by the Belarusian leader. Yet two North American newspapers provide more details on the matter, stating that General Surovikin – also known as General Armageddon for his ruthless methods in Syria – helped Yevgeny Prigozhin plan the uprising, which was intended to kill the defense minister and the Chief of Staff.
Sergei Surovikin, the man who commanded Russian troops in Ukraine between October and January, was aware of the plans of the head of the Wagner group. The New York Times. The doubt, for those sources, consists of whether the general would have been part of a collusion. On Wednesday evening, the news that he had been arrested came forward by the Moscow Times.
#Break the Moscow Times quotes two Russian security sources as saying General Surovikin has been arrested https://t.co/cOsZmbo4aG
—Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) June 28, 2023
Surovikin was the first senior military officer to ask Prigozhin to stop the raid on Moscow, in a video message in which he spoke in a double voice and held a gun in his right hand. “The enemy is waiting for our internal political situation to deteriorate. We must not play the enemy’s game at this difficult time for the country,” he said.
When Surovikin was demoted in January and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov took on the war, Prigozhin’s relationship with the military leadership began to deteriorate.
According to Wall Street Journal, the head of the Wagner group intended to detain Gerasimov and minister Sergei Shoigu. Western officials told the newspaper that Prigozhin tried to capture Shoigu and Gerasimov when they were due to visit the south of the country, but the FSB learned of the plan and the trip was changed. In response, Wagner’s leadership accelerated the reaction by taking control of the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District in Rostov.
On Tuesday, National Guard commander Viktor Zolotov confirmed that there had been leaks about the uprising’s plans and used the opportunity to arouse suspicion in the West. Foreknowledge of the attempt by top military personnel may have been a disincentive for any Prigozhin allies to actively participate in the march on Moscow.
On the eve of the European Council, which was largely devoted to the war in Ukraine, some of its leaders held high-level meetings. Certainly prompted by the news of the mercenary movement to Belarus, but with support for Ukraine in the background, the presidents of Poland and Lithuania headed to Kiev to meet their Ukrainian counterpart.
For the second day in a row, the Pole Andrzej Duda commented on the movements of the Wagner group. “It is difficult for us to rule out today that the presence of the Wagner group in Belarus could pose a potential threat to Poland, which borders Belarus, a threat to Lithuania and possibly also to Latvia,” he said. he to reporters. “The question that arises is: what is the purpose of this move? Is it a form of potential threat precisely against our countries, against the NATO countries, against Poland?” asked Duda, together with Nauseda and Volodymyr Zelensky.
Warsaw left no questions in the air. Back in government, Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski revealed that up to 8,000 mercenaries are expected in Belarus and announced the military reinforcement of the border with that country.
place in NATO
The Lithuanian president, one of the most ardent supporters of the integration of Ukraine into Western institutions, had as his main topic the discussion of the Atlantic alliance summit, which will take place in the Lithuanian capital. “I arrived in Kiev for the NATO summit in Vilnius with a key message: Ukraine’s place is in NATO,” wrote Lithuanian Gitanas Nauseda.
The host wholeheartedly agreed, having asked his country for “some specific things” from the allied states. “If the alliance wants to be powerful and does not see its existence without Ukraine, it is reasonable that we want to get at least some modalities of our future in NATO, some specific things,” he said without specifying which ones. “We are not talking about immediate membership. We understand that we cannot join NATO during the war, but we must be confident that we will be after the war. And this is exactly the signal we want to receive Zelensky said.
Meanwhile, in Brussels, Estonia’s prime minister was in good spirits when asked about Ukraine’s path to Kiev’s membership in the military structure. “I am truly convinced that every gray area in Europe is a source of conflict and war, and in fact the only guarantor of security that really works is NATO (…) It is in our interest to find this way, but the wording is still being worked out and we do not want to spoil the surprise of the Vilnius summit in any way,” said Kaja Kallas, announcing that her country will increase military support to Ukraine to 3% of GDP.
Regarding the departure of paid soldiers to Belarus, Kallas recalled that country is a “co-aggressor” of Ukraine. “Belarus is unpredictable and dangerous and that has not changed,” he said along with NATO’s secretary general. Jens Stoltenberg was cautious about events in Russia, saying that “it is too early to draw conclusions” but that the most important thing is to “send a message” that the organization is there “to protect every inch of territory ally and defend”.
In Moscow, the first day of the visit of Pope Francis’s envoy was illuminating in terms of Russian expectations regarding the potential mediation of the Holy See. While the Kremlin welcomed the diplomatic initiative led by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, it was received by the presidency’s diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov.
During his trip to Kiev in early June, Zuppi met Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and President Zelensky. Ukrainian authorities have asked for help regarding rescuing the children taken to Russia, as well as more prisoner exchanges, but have shown no hope for the mission. And they reiterated their position on the eve of Zuppi’s trip. “Our position is clear and we express it very openly: we don’t need mediation, and that’s because we’ve had bad experiences. We don’t trust Russia,” Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andryi Yermak, said.
Before the meeting with the presidents of Lithuania and Poland, Zelensky addressed the delegates, after emphasizing his opposition to a pause in the war: “Any suspended conflict is a war. A war that will surely break out. The only question is when. When and when how many lives will it cost. Therefore, peace must be fair.” The Vatican was also not particularly optimistic, saying that “the main aim of the initiative is to promote gestures of humanity” and thus contribute to a resolution of the conflict.
Source: DN
