Russian General Behind 'Surovikin Line' Mysteriously Vanishes

The former commander of Russia's military operations in Ukraine, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, also known as "General Armageddon", hasn't been sighted publicly since the Wagner Group's aborted mutiny in June, and recent reports suggest he has been placed under house arrest.

Surovikin, who earned his nickname in Russian media because of his aggressive military tactics in Chechnya and Syria, was last seen in a video appeal calling for an end to the June 24 mutiny led by Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, with whom he was reported to have good relations. Reports last month based on a U.S. intelligence briefing also suggested that the general had known in advance about Prigozhin's plans to march on Moscow.

The general is behind the so-called "Surovikin Line," a term which refers to defensive lines in Ukraine to impede Ukraine's armed forces in the ongoing war that were constructed under his command.

Questions have been raised about his whereabouts, particularly after he was notably missing from a July 10 meeting of military officials. A senior Russian politician said in July that Surovikin was "resting."

But on August 13, the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, which has close ties to Russian security forces, cited several sources as saying that Surovikin is now in an apartment "under a kind of house arrest."

"He cannot leave his home," the post said, adding that while there is no official investigation into the general, he spent a long time in limbo, answering "uncomfortable questions."

Surovikin and his relatives have been advised to stay under the radar so that he is "forgotten."

This is because Surovikin's fate "must be taken by one person [Russian President Vladimir Putin], and the longer this takes, the more this person will cool down," a source told the channel.

Just days after the mutiny, the Russian-language version of The Moscow Times cited Russian Defense Ministry sources as saying that Surovikin had been arrested for siding with Prigozhin as he planned his aborted mutiny.

Russian military blogger, Vladimir Romanov, also said on Telegram that Surovikin had been arrested on June 25.

Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, assessed late June that Surovikin's military "affiliates" had been accused of "complicity" in the uprising and that a "large-scale purge" of the Russian military command was under way.

Russian officials did not confirm Surovikin's arrest, and have refused to comment on his whereabouts. Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

Reuters reported U.S. intelligence as saying Surovikin was sympathetic to the Wagner rebellion, but it was unclear if he actively supported it.

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