Bayan News – Following the sudden dismissal of General Sergey Surovikin, the commander of the Russian Air Force, his fate, which had been the subject of speculation for months due to the unsuccessful coup attempt by the “Wagner” military group, has become shrouded in ambiguity.
According to the Arabic section of Al Arabiya, while all eyes are focused on the future of this general, the news agency “RIA Novosti” reported from its informed sources that Surovikin is taking a short-term leave after being appointed to another position.
However, the news agency did not mention the new position of this Russian general.
The news agency also revealed that General Viktor Ozerov, who was previously dismissed from the position of commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, has apparently been appointed as the interim commander of the Russian Air Force in an apparently strange decision.
General Viktor Ozerov, who was in charge of the overall command of the Russian Aerospace Forces when Surovikin was in charge of military operations in Ukraine, held the position of commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Sergey Surovikin assumed the position of commander of the Air Force in October 2017, and prior to that, he was in charge of the Russian group in Syria and the military region of Eastern Russia.
In October 2022, he was appointed as the commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, and in January of this year (2023), he became the deputy commander of the forces involved in the battles on Ukrainian soil.
Ambiguous Role
However, there were ambiguities surrounding the name of this general during the unsuccessful coup attempt last July by the “Wagner” group, especially as he initially remained silent, and then rumors of his arrest or dismissal were published before Moscow officially denied the matter and emphasized his temporary leave.
While US officials preferred not to comment on whether this Russian commander had prior knowledge of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans, the commander of Wagner for the uprising against Moscow.
Prigozhin’s support for Surovikin brought him into the spotlight and raised many questions about him, especially since the Wagner commander had previously attacked the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff before the uprising.
