Wagner revolt
Preliminary information on the uprising plan: Kremlin rejects US report
“Army and population have remained loyal to Putin”: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. photo
© Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik Kremlin/AP/dpa
The “New York Times” reports that the Deputy Chief of Staff Surovikin was informed in advance of the Wagner uprising. The Kremlin spokesman speaks of “speculation” and “gossip”.
The Kremlin has dismissed a US media report as “speculation” that Russia’s deputy chief of staff Sergei Surovikin is said to have known in advance about the uprising plan of the mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. “There is now a lot of different speculation and gossip surrounding these events,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, according to Russian news agencies. “I think that’s an example of that.” The army and the population “all stood by the President (Vladimir Putin) during the uprising,” said Peskov.
The US newspaper “New York Times” had previously reported, citing US security circles, that Surovikin knew in advance about the Wagner Group uprising. US officials now wanted to find out if the army general might have helped plan. The newspaper also writes that according to information from US secret services, there are indications that other Russian generals may have known about Prigozhin’s plans. According to the report, US officials believe that Prigozhin would not have launched his insurgency if he had not believed that others would come to his aid.
On the side of power
Surovikin is considered an ally of Prigozhin, but he had sided with the power apparatus in Moscow on Saturday night. In a video message, Surovikin called Prigozhin to end the power struggle.
Putin could keep Surovikin if the president came to the conclusion that Surovikin only knew about the plans but did not help Prigozhin. High-ranking US officials also suspected that an alliance between Surovikins and Prigozhin could explain why Prigozhin was still alive after the revolt, the New York Times continued.
In addition, the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed Western government officials, reported that Prigozhin originally planned to capture Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Commander-in-Chief Valery Gerasimov in the wake of the revolt.
White House doesn’t want to speculate
Deputy spokeswoman Olivia Dolton said at a press briefing on Wednesday that the White House does not want to engage in speculation about recent events in Russia. When asked about the Wall Street Journal report by a reporter, she said, “We cannot confirm that. Nor would we speculate on the reports we saw that night.”
Meanwhile, rumors about a possible arrest of Surovikin were circulating in the Russian-language media on Wednesday evening. The independent Internet newspaper “Moscow Times” wrote about this, citing two anonymous sources with connections to the Russian Ministry of Defense. However, there was no official confirmation at first.
Wagner boss Prigozhin had meanwhile occupied the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday and then had his fighters march towards Moscow. He surprisingly gave up around 200 kilometers from the Russian capital. The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko mediated in the conflict. Putin assured Prigozhin and his mercenaries of impunity. According to Lukashenko, Prigozhin has now arrived in Belarus.