A photo has emerged online purporting to show a plainclothes Sergei Surovikin in Algeria speaking to the country’s military forces.
While still unconfirmed, rumours are now swirling that this is part of a Russian campaign to replace the Wagner Group factions in Africa with an outfit led by Surovikin.
The former general was head of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine from October last year until January this year, when he was replaced by the incumbent Valery Gerasimov.
He was known to have affiliations with the Wagner Group and had become somewhat of a spokesman for their interests among high-ranking military officials, it has been alleged.
The day the late Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his mutinous march on Moscow (June 24) was the last time Surovikin was seen in public. The New York Times, citing anonymous US officials, alleged that he had knowledge of the mutiny before it happened and was being punished as a result.
Popular Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which claims to “reveal the secrets of officials, oligarchs, gangsters, and security forces”, alleged that the photo is evidence Surovikin is being reintroduced to the fold but only outside of Russia.
“The fact that the Presidential Administration managed to obtain permission for Surovikin’s participation in events abroad also indicates the beginning of a campaign to replace Prigozhin with the figure of Surovikin,” the channel said.
Those comments were widely shared by Wagner-affiliated channels, indicating the group’s affinity to Surovikin but not necessarily that there is truth in the report.