Russian General Sergei Surovikin, one of the emblematic commanders of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, was fired because of his ties to the Wagner Group and reappeared in Algeria during an official visit after a months-long absence.
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In these images, posted on the Oran Grand Mosque’s Facebook account on Tuesday but appearing in Russian media on Friday, we can see Mr. Sourovikine, also known as “General Armageddon,” in a beige civilian costume alongside Russian officers in military uniform and the Imam of this mosque, Abou Abdallah Zebar.
GENERAL ARMAGEDDON is spotted in Algeria 🏴☠️
Yes, friends, you will soon be hearing a lot more from the PMC Wagner Group.
Expect Wagnerian Sergey Surovikin, the world’s greatest living military mastermind, to play a major role in the orchestra’s war to liberate Africa from… pic.twitter.com/O0GijhU4TM
– James Porrazzo (@JamesPorrazzo) September 15, 2023
“A high-level Russian delegation visited the Abdelhamid Ben Badis Grand Mosque and was received by the Director of Religious Affairs and the Imam of the Grand Mosque,” she said in a message accompanying these photos.
The purpose of Mr. Sourovikin’s visit to Algeria was not specified and Moscow has not communicated on the subject.
There has been speculation about Sergei Surovikin’s fate since his disappearance from public space following the failed Wagner Group uprising in June.
According to several Russian media outlets, he was fired from his post as commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces in August, two months after the Wagner Mutiny, which he was close to but did not support.
During Wagner’s 24-hour uprising that shook Russia’s power, Mr Surovikin called on the mutineers to “stop” and return to their barracks “before it is too late”. Nevertheless, the general was considered a close confidant of his leader Yevgeny Prigoyine, who died in a plane crash in August.
Mr. Surovikin was one of the main commanders of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
A veteran of the Soviet war in Afghanistan and the second Chechen war in the 2000s, Mr. Surovikin also took part in the brutal Russian campaign in Syria in 2015.