According to US intelligence, Sergei Surovikin allegedly knew of the Wagner mutiny last month, while the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said his absence had fuelled theories that he had been “sidelined following the mutiny”.
Asked by Russian media outlet, Shot, if he had spoken to Mr Surovikin, Andrei Kartapolov, a retired general who heads the defence affairs committee in the lower house of the Russian parliament, said: “No, he is resting now. Not available.”
Mr Surovikin was put in charge of Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine last October but was removed three months later. Since then he has served as commander of Russia’s aerospace division.
In its intelligence update on July 12, the MoD pointed to the growing public profile of the absent general’s deputy, Viktor Afzalov, who was televised briefing chief of the general staff general Valery Gerasimov - his first appearance despite being in the role for four years.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, called off an attempted coup on June 24 after taking control of the Russian city of Rostov in what Vladimir Putin branded a “treasonous mutiny”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has now revealed a three-hour meeting took place on June 29 - five days after Mr Prigozhin staged an attempted uprising - between the president and the mercenary leader.
Following the mutiny, it was agreed that Mr Prigozhin and some Wagner troops would relocate to Belarus.
The country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, however, said the mercenary group leader was still in Russia.
Russia’s defence ministry has since claimed the mercenary group has handed thousands of tonnes of weaponry and ammunition to Russia’s regular army.
