Putin Kicks Out Surovikin After 2 Months Of Silence

Gen. Sergei Surovikin, a former commander of Russia’s forces in Ukraine who was linked to the leader of a brief armed rebellion, has been dismissed as chief of the air force, Russian state media reported after weeks of uncertainty about his fate, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Surovikin has not been seen in public since June 23-24. I Photo: Presidential Executive Office of Russia

Surovikin has not been seen in public since June 23-24, when Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, sent his men to march toward Moscow.

In a video released during the uprising, Surovikin — who was believed to have close ties to Prigozhin — had urged him to pull the mercenaries back.

Alexei Venediktov, the editor of the banned Ekho Moskvy radio station, posted an excerpt from a Kremlin decree which appeared to show Gen Surovikin had been dismissed from his post but will be retained in some capacity at the defense ministry, The Telegraph reported.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that Surovikin has been replaced as commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces by Col. Gen. Viktor Afzalov, who heads the main staff of the air force.

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