Russian General Surovikin knew about Prigozhin's rebellion plans – NYT

Russian General Sergei Surovikin, who was appointed in the Russian Federation as a mediator between the Ministry of Defence and Wagner, knew about the plans of mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to commit a mutiny in Russia. 

Source: The New York Times

Details: US officials who have reviewed US intelligence reports say Surovikin knew in advance about Prigozhin's plans to rebel against the Russian military leadership.

Officials said they are trying to find out whether General Surovikin helped plan Prigozhin's actions.

US officials also said there are signs that other Russian generals may also have supported Prigozhin’s attempt to change the leadership of the Defence Ministry by force.

Current and former US officials said that Prigozhin would not have launched the uprising if he was not confident that other high-ranking officials would come to his aid.

The newspaper believes that if Surovikin was involved in these events, it would be the latest sign of infighting within the Russian military leadership.

Putin must decide whether he believes Surovikin helped Prigozhin and how he should respond, officials say.

Some former officials say Putin could decide to keep General Surovikin, if his conclusion is that Surovikin knew something about Prigozhin's plans but did not help him.

Analysts have said that for now, Putin seems intent on holding Prigozhin solely responsible for the rebellion.

Senior US officials have suggested that an alliance between General Surovikin and Prigozhin may explain Prigozhin’s survival.

Th US officials said, on condition of anonymity, that removing Surovikin would be of benefit to Ukraine.

They also suggest that there was collusion between some military officials and Prigozhin, because Prigozhin's mercenaries almost reached Moscow with virtually no resistance.  

Former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said: "There were just too many weird things that happened that, in my mind, suggest there was collusion that we have not figured out yet."

Quote from McFaul: "Think of how easy it was to take Rostov. There are armed guards everywhere in Russia, and suddenly, there’s no one around to do anything?"

Independent experts, US and allied officials said that Prigozhin seemed to believe that large parts of Russia’s army would rally to his side as his convoy moved on Moscow.

Background:

• On the evening of 23 June, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that the regular Russian army had launched a missile strike on the Wagner mercenaries’ rear camps. He therefore deployed 25,000 of his mercenaries "to restore justice".
• Late in the evening of 23 June, General Sergei Surovikin recorded a video message, calling on the mercenaries to "stop".
• On 24 June, the Wagnerites took control of military facilities in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and seized military facilities in the city of Voronezh. They were on their way to Moscow, and the Russian capital was preparing for defence.
• That evening, following a conversation with Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin said that his mercenaries were heading back to field camps. He had been promised that the criminal charges against him in Russia were to be dropped, and he was supposed to "leave for Belarus".
• On 26 June, Prigozhin claimed that the purpose of his march on Moscow was to protect the Wagner Group from being wiped out, as the mercenaries had to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence by 1 July, which they did not wish to do. He also claimed that he had stopped in order to "avoid shedding Russian blood" when Lukashenko suggested finding a way for the Wagner Group to continue operating in a "legitimate jurisdiction". Prigozhin is allegedly in Belarus now.
• Lukashenko claimed that Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, had finally given up his demands that Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov should be dismissed.
• Putin officially offered the Wagnerites the opportunity to join other military formations or the Russian Defence Ministry, or to move to Belarus. Wagner’s armoured vehicles are being made ready for transfer to the Russian Defence Ministry.

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