Missing Russian general Sergei Surovikin is 'resting', lawmaker says

A senior commander has disappeared since a mutiny. Another was killed in an airstrike in Ukraine. And a third former commander was shot while jogging in what could have been a staged hit. in the days following a short-lived insurrection by Wagner mercenaries three weeks ago, as the pressures of Moscow's nearly 17-month war ripple through the armed forces.

Wednesday deepened mystery into the fate of General Sergei Surovikin, the country's former commander-in-chief in Ukraine, who was dubbed "General Armageddon" for his ruthless tactics, and who did not not seen since the Wagner Rebellion.

One ​​of the country's top lawmakers said, under pressure from a reporter, that the general was "resting" .

"It is not available at the moment," lawmaker Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Russian State Duma's defense committee, added in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app before rushing away from the reporter.

General Surovikin was considered an ally of Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the head of the company of Wagner mercenaries, whose forces mounted the brief insurgency in late June aimed at overthrowing the Russian military leadership, before retreating in a deal with the Kremlin.

The New York Times reported that US officials believe General Surovikin had prior knowledge of the mutiny but do not know if he participated in it. Within hours of the rebellion's start, Russian authorities quickly released a video of the general calling on the Wagnerian fighters to stand down.

The lawmaker's cryptic comment on General Surovikin came two days after Russian authorities released the first images of the country's top military officer, General Valery V .Gerasimov, since the uprising.

In the video, General Gerasimov was receiving a report from the Russian Aerospace Forces, led by General Surovikin. But the person who gave the update in the footage was General Surovikin's deputy, Colonel General Viktor Afzalov.

General Surovikin's location doesn't is just one of the many mysteries that have arisen since the mutiny. Despite a deal announced by the Kremlin, under which Mr. Prigozhin would leave Russia for Belarus and avoid prosecution, the mercenary tycoon appears to have remained in Russia.

The The Kremlin revealed earlier this week that Mr Prigozhin and his top commanders met with President Vladimir V. Putin five days after the mutiny, raising many questions about what kind of deal was struck with former insurgents. On Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said the Russian armed forces had recovered more than 2,000 pieces of equipment and weaponry from Wagner.

Hardware should be restored for later use. So far, the mercenary group has handed over thousands of light and heavy weapons, the ministry said, including rocket launchers and mortar systems, anti-tank guns and multi-purpose armored tractors.

Russia, meanwhile, has taken another blow to its highest military ranks. Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov, deputy commander of Russia's Southern Military District, was killed in Ukraine in a missile strike Monday night on the occupied city of Berdyansk, one of Russia's highest casualties in the world. during the war, Ukrainian authorities announced.

Russian lawmaker and retired general Andrei Gurulyov confirmed the death of General Tsokov during an appearance on state television Wednesday, saying he had "heroically died." The death recalled the early days of the war, when Ukrainian officials said they killed about 12 generals on the front lines.