Russia’s war in Ukraine and fallout from Wagner insurrection: Live updates

General Sergey Surovikin, the commander of the Russian air force, has not been seen in public since overnight on Friday when he issued a video appeal to Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to cease his rebellion.

Rumors about his whereabouts — and his potential role in the short-lived insurrection — have been swirling in recent days.

On Wednesday, the Russian-language version of the Moscow Times cited two anonymous defense sources as saying that Surovikin had been arrested in relation to the failed mutiny. CNN has not been able to independently verify that claim. 

CNN has reached out to the Kremlin and Russian Ministry of Defense for comment on Surovikin’s whereabouts. The Kremlin said on Wednesday, “no comment,” and a defense ministry spokesperson said: “I can’t say anything.”

Asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to trust Surovikin, Peskov said: “He [Putin] is the supreme commander-in-chief and he works with the defense minister, [and] with the chief of the General Staff. As for the structural divisions within the ministry, I would ask you to contact the [Defense] Ministry.”

The video released on Friday has raised more questions than answers about Surovikin’s whereabouts and state of mind. He appears in the footage unshaven and with a halting delivery, apparently reading from a script.

A popular blogger going by the name Rybar noted on Wednesday that “Surovikin has not been seen since Saturday [and] it is not known for certain where ‘General Armageddon’ [a nickname Surovikin was given by the Russian press] is. There is a version that he is under interrogation.”

A well-known Russian journalist Alexey Venediktov – former editor of the now shuttered Echo Moscow radio station – also claimed on Wednesday that Surovikin had not been in contact with his family for three days.
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