Russian general Sergei Surovikin shown in ‘first photo’ since Wagner mutiny

A photo appearing to show Sergei Surovikin has been posted on social media, amid reports the Russian General was being investigated by the Kremlin for possible complicity in the Wagner rebellion.

Gen Surovikin had not been seen in public since Wagner’s failed mutiny in June this year until a photo was posted on Telegram on Monday by a well-known Russian media personality.

The photo, which has not been independently verified, appeared to show Gen Surovikin wearing sunglasses and a cap walking alongside a woman resembling his wife, Anna.

“General Sergei Surovikin is out. Alive, healthy, at home, with his family, in Moscow. Photo taken today,” Ksenia Sobchak wrote in a caption to the picture on Telegram.

Prominent independent Russian journalist Alexei Venediktov wrote on his Telegram channel: “General Surovikin is at home with his family. He is on leave and available to the Defence Ministry.”

Gen Surovikin, who gained the nickname “General Armageddon” during Russia’s military intervention in Syria’s civil war, briefly led Russia’s war effort in Ukraine before General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, took over the role in January.

It has been reported that Gen Surovikin fell out of favour with the Kremlin following Wagner’s mutiny in June, with state news agency RIA reporting that he had been removed as head of the air force.

The alleged sighting of Gen Surovikin comes less than two weeks after Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died after his private plane crashed on a trip between St Petersburg and Moscow.

While the exact circumstances surrounding the crash remain unclear, intelligence sources in the US and UK told i they were examining whether the Russian general responsible for the unit that is believed to have carried out the 2018 Salisbury poisonings was involved. Russia has denied playing any role in the plane crash.