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A photo purportedly showing Sergei Surovikin was published on social media
A photo published online appears to show a Russian general who has not been seen in public since a mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group in June.
Sergei Surovikin is said to have been close to Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash last month.
General Surovikin is reportedly being investigated for possible complicity in the mutiny.
But now a photo has been published on social media that allegedly shows Russia’s former commander in Ukraine.
“General Sergei Surovikin is outside. Alive, healthy, at home, with his family, in Moscow. The photo was taken today,” noted Russian media personality Ksenia Sobchak wrote in a caption on Telegram on Monday.
The BBC has not yet verified the authenticity of the photo. It shows a man in sunglasses walking arm in arm with a red-haired woman who resembles the general’s wife, Anna.
Russian journalist Alexei Venediktov wrote separately on Telegram: “General Surovikin is at home with his family. He is on leave and available to the Department of Defense.”
Wagner’s mercenaries attempted a brief mutiny on June 23 and 24 and threatened a march on Moscow.
Prigozhin and nine other people died in the crash near Moscow on August 23, sparking frantic speculation. The Wagner boss was described by many as a “dead man walking” after the failed mutiny.
General Surovikin was last seen publicly in a video during the mutiny in which he called on the Wagner forces to stop their action.
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Look: Obey Putin and return to base – Russian Commander-in-Chief
Days later, media reports said he had been arrested, but there was no official confirmation of his whereabouts.
He gained a reputation for brutality during Russian operations in Syria, where he became known as “General Armageddon.”
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The general, seen here with President Vladimir Putin, was appointed commander-in-chief of Russian forces in Ukraine in October but was fired three months later