Ukraine War: Sergei Surovikin “Seen in the First Picture” since the Wagner Rebellion

The photo posted online appears to show a Russian general who has not been seen in public since the Wagner mercenary group’s mutiny in June.

Sergei Surovikin is said to have been close to Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash last month.

There were reports that General Surovikin was being investigated for possible involvement in the mutiny.

But a photo purporting to show the former Russian commander in Ukraine has now been posted on social media.

“General Sergey Surovikin is out of the country. Alive and well at home with his family in Moscow. Photo taken today,” well-known Russian broadcaster Ksenia Sobchak wrote in a comment on the photo on the Telegram app on Monday.

The BBC has not yet verified the authenticity of the image, which shows a man wearing sunglasses walking arm in arm with a red-haired woman who looks like the general’s wife, Anna.

Russian journalist Alexei Venediktov wrote separately on Telegram: “General Surovikin is at home with his family. He is on vacation and available to the Ministry of Defence.”

Wagner’s mercenaries attempted a brief insurrection on 23 and 24 June, threatening an advance on Moscow.

Prigozhin and nine others were killed in the crash near Moscow on August 23, fueling fevered speculation. Chief Wagner was described by many as a “walking dead man” after the failed rebellion.

General Surovikin was last seen publicly in a video during the mutiny urging Wagner’s troops to stop their work.

Media reports said days later that he had been arrested, but there was no official confirmation of his whereabouts.

He gained notoriety for his brutality during Russian operations in Syria, where he became known as “General Armageddon”.