Russian General Surovikin visits Algeria with Defence Ministry delegation

Sergei Surovikin, a former Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) commander who was fired over his links to Wagner, came to Algeria together with a delegation of the Russian Defence Ministry.

Source: Kommersant

Details: The newspaper’s source connects the trip with the fact that "the military and political leadership of the country considers the implementation of eastern foreign policy to be of great importance."

The newspaper also suggests that Surovikin may be appointed to a position related to work with the East.

Earlier:

On 11 September, Surovikin was appointed head of the Coordinating Committee for Air Defence under the Council of Defence Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Background:

• From October 2022 to January 2023, he commanded the joint group of Russian troops in Ukraine, and from 11 January 2023, he served as deputy commander.
• During the Wagner PMC mutiny on 23-24 June 2023, Surovikin recorded a video message to the mercenaries, calling for them to return to their places of deployment.  After that, he did not appear in the public eye.
• On 13 July, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that the Russian secret service had detained at least 12 high-ranking military officers, including General Sergei Surovikin, in connection with Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny, and that 15 officers had been suspended or fired.
• On 22 August, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin dismissed General Sergei Surovikin as commander of Russia’s Aerospace Forces. Media reports say Surovikin was detained by Russian counterintelligence in connection with the mutiny led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was known to be linked to the general.
• On 5 September, it was reported that Sergei Surovikin had been released several days after the death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash.
• On 6 September, a page containing information about General Sergei Surovikin, the former commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, disappeared from the Russian Defence Ministry’s website.
• On the evening of 23 August, a small plane crashed in Russia’s Tver Oblast. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, was listed as having been on board.

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