A top Russian general arrested after he reportedly knew of Wagner’s rebellion ahead of time

A top Russian general who reportedly had early knowledge of the Wagner Group’s march on Moscow last week has been arrested.

The Moscow Times said Gen. Sergei Surovikin has not been seen in public since Saturday, the day Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his mercenary army launched a short-lived armed rebellion against Russia’s military establishment. 

Mr. Prigozhin has since fled to Belarus.

The newspaper on Wednesday said two sources close to the defense ministry confirmed Gen. Surovikin was in custody.

“He (Surovikin) chose Prigozhin’s side during the uprising, and they’ve got him by the balls,” one of the sources told the newspaper.

Alexei Venediktov, an editor at the Ekho Moskvy radio station that was shuttered by the Russian government, said Gen. Surovkin is reportedly being held in Moscow’s infamous Lefortovo Prison.

“Surovikin has not been in contact with his family for three days. His guards are not responding either,” Mr. Venediktov said on his Telegram messaging page.

Lefortovo is the same prison where Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is being held. 

Mr. Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 and accused of espionage, making him the first American journalist in Russia arrested on such charges since the Cold War. 

The Wall Street Journal “vehemently” denies the allegations against their reporter and has called for his immediate release.

Gen. Surovikin commanded Russia’s forces in Ukraine between October 2022 and January 2023 but was replaced and demoted by Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia’s general staff.