Russia arrests former top commander of its forces in Ukraine General Surovikin over Wagner coup attempt: Report

Russia has arrested General Sergei Surovikin, the former top commander of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine in connection with the coup attempt by the Wagner Group, The Moscow Times newspaper reported citing sources. Nicknamed ‘General Armageddon,’ Surovikin is one of Russia’s most well-known and respected military leaders. He was made the deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, earlier this year, in a relegation that was seen as a political rather than a military move. Surovikin, who has not been seen in public since 24 June when he made an appeal for the mutiny to be called off, has often been praised by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin who led the brief rebellion. Surovikin had prior knowledge of Wagner rebellion: US media Earlier, US newspaper The New York Times reported that Surovikin had prior knowledge of the rebellion by the mercenaries. NYT cited American officials briefed on intelligence regarding the matter, and reported that the officials were “trying to learn if Surovikin helped plan Prigozhin’s actions.” However, the Kremlin on Wednesday rejected the NYT report as “speculation.” “There will now be a lot of speculation, gossip and so on around these events. I think this is one such example,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a press briefing. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.