Sergei Surovikin, also known as “General Armageddon,” was dismissed from his position as chief of the air force in Russia after disappearing from view amid a Wagner mercenary uprising against the senior military leadership, according to two Russian news agencies on Wednesday.
Surovikin, a holder of Russia’s highest military honor, is the senior military official to be fired as a result of the mutiny that occurred from June 23 to 34 and was described as having the potential to plunge Russia into civil war by President Vladimir Putin.
Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister, and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of staff, remain in their positions despite Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, having tried to have them removed.
Surovikin, who formerly oversaw Russia’s whole military campaign in Ukraine and was hailed by Russian and Western military experts as one of its most capable operators, has not yet been publicly dismissed.
Nicknamed General Armageddon, Surovikin vanished from public view after Wagner revolt
Sergei Surovikin, the former commander of the Russian Air and Space Forces, has now been relieved of his duties, and Colonel-General Viktor Afzalov, the head of the Air Force’s main staff, is temporarily serving as commander-in-chief of the Air Force, according to a report from the Russian state news agency RIA.
The RBC news portal also claimed that Surovikin had been fired, citing two anonymous persons with knowledge of the matter.
They were quoted as stating that he had been demoted, was on leave, and had also lost his position as deputy commander of Russia’s forces in Ukraine.
The reported dismissal of Surovikin and the appointment of an acting replacement suggest that the authorities disapproved of his actions during the uprising. This action appears to be a part of a campaign to get rid of or marginalize anyone perceived as being too close to Wagner.
Since the mutiny, the government has also taken steps to suppress vocal opponents of how Russia is waging the war, both inside the army, as in the case of a Russian general, and from the outside, as in the case of nationalist Igor Girkin.
‘General Armageddon’
US officials said in June that Surovikin had been supportive of Prigozhin, but that Western intelligence did not know with certainty whether he had helped the rebellion in any way.
Given Surovikin’s reputed competence, some Western military experts have suggested his removal from battlefield operations could hurt Russia’s campaign in Ukraine, something it calls “a special military operation”.
Surovikin’s last public appearance was on June 24, the second and final day of the mutiny.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
