U.S. officials said Russian general knew of Wagner Group leader’s rebellion ahead of time: Report

U.S. officials believe a top Russian general knew ahead of time that the founder of the Wagner Group mercenary army planned to march on Moscow in a bid to oust the country’s military leadership, according to The New York Times.

Determining whether Gen. Sergei Surovikin helped orchestrate Yevgeny Prigozhin’s aborted mission last weekend could answer questions about his support within Russia’s military establishment.

“Current and former U.S. officials said Mr. Prigozhin would not have launched his uprising unless he believed that others in positions of power would come to his aid,” The New York Times reported.

Gen. Surovkin became commander of all Russian forces invading Ukraine in October but was replaced and demoted three months later by Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia’s general staff.

Foreign policy analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to paint Mr. Prigozhin as corrupt and a liar to destroy his reputation among Wagner Group personnel and within Russian society.

The Kremlin said it paid the Concord Group — the parent company of the Wagner Group leader’s catering company — more than $900 million from May 2022 to last May to provide food to the Russian military. Mr. Putin said the government is investigating whether the company stole any money.

“Putin has likely decided that he cannot directly eliminate Prigozhin without making him a martyr at this time,” the Institute for the Study of War think tank said this week. “Prigozhin still retains some support within Russian society and the Russian Regular forces, and the Kremlin will need to ensure that these groups become disillusioned with Prigozhin to effectively deprive him of any of his popular support in Russia.”

Mr. Prigozhin accused Russian military officials of mistreating front-line troops, a message that likely appealed to service members and their families who have become disillusioned with the Kremlin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

“The Kremlin needs to separate Prigozhin’s cause from his persona, lest an attack on [him] be perceived as a Kremlin attack on his popular narrative and his stated objectives of punishing the criminally incompetent Russian [Ministry of Defense] leadership,” the ISW said.