Following the publication of this story, the spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitri S. Peskov, gave a harsh response and asserted on Wednesday that Russia’s troops and people had come together in support of Mr. Putin.According to U.S. officials who have been briefed on American intelligence on the topic, a senior Russian general had early knowledge of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans to revolt against Russia’s military leadership. This revelation has generated questions about the level of support the mercenary leader had inside the top levels of the Russian military.
Officials have stated that they are attempting to discover whether or not Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the former senior Russian commander in Ukraine, was involved in the planning of Mr. Prigozhin’s actions over the weekend. These acts represented the greatest significant threat to President Vladimir V. Putin during Putin’s 23 years in power.According to observers, General Surovikin is a well-respected military leader who was instrumental in helping to strengthen defenses across the battle lines following Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year. He was removed from his position as the top commander in January, but he continued to have a say in how military operations were conducted, and he is still well liked by the soldiers.
Carry on reading the primary narrative.There are other indications, according to authorities from the United States of America, that further Russian generals may have supported Mr. Prigozhin’s attempt to replace the leadership of the Defense Ministry by coercion. According to current and former officials in the United States government, Mr. Prigozhin would not have started his insurrection if he did not believe that other people in authoritative positions would support him.If General Surovikin was involved in the events that took place over the weekend, it would be the latest sign of the infighting that has characterized Russia’s military leadership since the beginning of Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Additionally, it could signal a wider fracture between supporters of Mr. Prigozhin and Mr. Putin’s two senior military advisers: Sergei K. Shoigu, the minister of defense, and Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff.Officials suggest that Mr. Putin needs to make a decision right now regarding whether or not he believes that General Surovikin assisted Mr. Prigozhin and how he should react. A heated standoff between them. An armed insurrection in Russia that was headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner private military business, shocked the globe and constituted the single greatest challenge to the reign of President Vladimir Putin since he came to power 23 years ago. The following is important information regarding the uprising:
Where did it all begin? On June 23, Prigozhin made a series of tweets on social media in which he questioned the Kremlin’s motivations for the war in Ukraine and accused the Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, of ordering lethal airstrikes on Wagner fighters. Prigozhin also accused Shoigu of ordering the attacks on Wagner forces. The tensions that existed between Prigozhin and Russia’s military had been growing steadily over the course of several months. A quick escalation. Just a few hours after Prigozhin’s comments, Russian officials condemned the mercenary group’s commander and started an investigation into allegations that he led an armed insurrection. On June 24, Wagner fighters took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, which is a major military hub, and began moving convoys in the direction of Moscow.
