FILE PHOTO: Commander of Russia's Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovikin attends a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, November 3, 2021. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY. AN UNPROCESSED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY/File Photo
A photograph on the internet appears to show a Russian general who hasn’t been seen in public since the Wagner mercenary force revolt in June.
According to reports, Sergei Surovikin knew Wagner CEO Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in an airplane crash earlier this month.
According to sources, Gen Surovikin is being investigated for possible rebel participation.
A image purporting to show Russia’s former commander in Ukraine, however, has gone viral on social media.
“General Sergei Surovikin is out. Alive, healthy, at home, with his family, in Moscow. Photo taken today,” well-known Russian media personality Ksenia Sobchak wrote in a caption on the picture on Telegram on Monday.
Russian journalist Alexei Venediktov separately wrote on Telegram: “General Surovikin is at home with his family. He is on leave and available to the defense ministry.”
Wagner’s mercenaries attempted a brief mutiny on 23 and 24 June, threatening to march on Moscow.
Prigozhin and nine others were killed in the crash near Moscow on 23 August, which led to frenzied speculation. The Wagner boss was described by many as a “dead man walking” after the failed mutiny.
