Russian Invasion|Russian Reactions

 

Sergei Surovikin and Vladimir Putin in 2022. Mikhail Klimentyev / AP  

 

Russian Invasion|Russian Reactions 

Expert: The general should have known he was going to be arrested 

 

The information that the top Russian general Sergej Surovikin has been arrested does not surprise the Norwegian intelligence expert Tom Røseth. He says to Dagbladet that Surovikin should have understood that he would be arrested after the Wagner group's rebellion.  

 

He believes that Surovikin knew that the uprising was going on even before it took place because he is in a position where he has access to important intelligence.  

 

- He should have known about it. It may happen that he didn't, but in that case the chain of command in the Russian leadership doesn't work, says Røseth.  

 

British military expert Michael Clarke tells Sky News that Surovikin has been close to Wagner leader Prigozhin and that there have been several rumors that he knew about the Wagner group's plans. 

 

- What happened with Surovikin is very interesting. "He's one of the top commanders of the whole operation, he's still the head of the air force and he hasn't been seen since the mutiny," Clarke said.  

 

Sergey Surovikin. AP 

 

Sources: Top general arrested - took Prigozhin's side  

 

Sergei Surovikin, deputy commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine, has been arrested. This is stated by two sources close to the Ministry of Defense for the independent Moscow Times.  

 

- Apparently he took Prigozhin's side during the revolt, and (the authorities) grabbed him, says one of them.  

 

The same information has been published by war blogger Vladimir Romanov. According to him, Surovikin was arrested on Sunday, the day after the revolt ended.  

 

During the Wagner group's advance towards Moscow on Saturday, a clip was published in which Surovikin, holding an automatic rifle, urged the leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to back down.  

 

Surovikin has long had close ties to Prigozhin. Among other things, they have served in Syria together. 

 

 

Putin/Prigozhin. AP  

 

Analysis: Only a matter of time before Putin takes revenge on Prigozhin  

 

It is likely only a matter of time before Putin takes revenge on the Wagner leader Prigozhin, Aftonbladet's Wolfgang Hansson writes in an analysis.  

 

He lists several previous examples of Putin murdering those who stood up to him.  

 

"Putin is in no hurry, but sooner or later the sausage man and the hawker from St. Petersburg must count on revenge."  

 

Rumors of a purge in the Russian military ranks spread among Russian military bloggers after the Wagner revolt, write Tim Lister and Katharina Krebs in an analysis for CNN.  

 

The popular blogger Rybar claims that such is already underway among lower commanders, and many speculate about what the top echelon was really up to during the weekend's events, the writers note.  

 

Belarus dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko is usually the one who lisps for Vladimir Putin and asks him for favors. Now the roles are reversed, writes Andrew Osborn for Reuters.  

 

"According to his own and Putin's narrative, it was Lukashenko who played a key role in quelling a mutiny that threatened to destabilize the world's largest nuclear power."