Russia’s ‘General Armageddon’ Detained as Putin Hunts for Wagner Collaborators: Sources

A top Russian army commander has been detained for questioning as Russian President Vladimir Putin hunts for potential collaborators with the mercenary group Wagner’s failed mutiny on Saturday, according to two senior NATO officials.

General Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon” for commanding Russian air forces in Syria, has been detained in southern Russia, the NATO officials said.  They added he was probably in the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, the epicentre of Wagner’s short lived coup, for questioning about his relationship with Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been forced into exile in Belarus by Putin.

“He was last seen in Rostov and while possible, I haven’t seen any reason to think he has been moved,” a NATO official told VICE News. 

The detention of Surovikin was first reported by the UK’s Financial Times newspaper and confirmed by two NATO officials on the condition of anonymity. Surovikin has not been seen in public since Saturday’s failed putsch aimed at Russian military leaders that Prigozhin said were betraying the Ukraine war effort. 

His daughter, Veronika, denied that he had been detained when contacted by Baza, a Russian media outlet with ties to the security services. “Nothing happened to him, he is at his workplace as usual,” she said.

While Wagner and Russian military officials have had bombastically tense relations over Ukraine, Surovikin is considered close to Prigozhin and said to be an honorary Wagner member. The New York Times has previously reported that US officials believe Surovikin had prior knowledge of Prigozhin’s plan. 

“It’s hard to say if it's a formal charge or just a ‘frank discussion of the weekend’s events,’ but clearly Putin suspects Surovikin of at least not reporting coup-like discussions,” said one official. “Prigozhin and Surovikin have been allies against the defence establishment in the past, certainly in Syria.”

Last week, Prigozhin announced his intent to arrest key ministry of defence and Russian army figures for improperly managing the war effort in Ukraine. By Saturday morning, his mercenary troops had occupied Rostov without resistance and drove within 120 miles of Moscow – shooting down multiple Russian Army helicopters and a plane along the way – before both sides agreed to stand down in a deal brokered by Belarusian President and Kremlin ally Alexander Lukashenko.

The senior NATO official said if Putin is forced to purge Surovikin, it could be a greater loss than the tens of thousands of well trained and equipped Wagner troops whose future fighting for post-coup Russia remains very much in doubt.

“It’s unclear what the plan for Wagner is,” said the official. “There’s been reports of some heavy weapons handovers and Belarus is clearly building facilities but there’s not much actual movement in any direction. But the involvement or loss of Surovikin might sting as he’s a complete bastard but basically competent. He designed the defensive lines that Ukraine is currently trying to crack.” 

The second official refused to speculate on how far Putin would go in any loyalty purge but said the regime’s current restraint could be a sign of insecurity.

“If Putin knew who to purge, he’d purge them,” said the second official, who added that the appearance of indecision by Putin might be shaking the elite’s confidence in him.

“It’s the uncanny silence from the Russian elites that has all of us, probably including Putin spooked,” said the second official. “Key military and economic figures, the elites that Putin relies on as much as they rely on them, haven’t been as vocally loyal as we, or Putin, would expect.”