The website referred to two sources close to Russia’s General Staff and Russia’s FSB Federal Security Service.
The sources did not confirm the media reports about Surovikin’s arrest. The war criminal was “interrogated, but then released,” the website wrote.
Kremlin propaganda news agency TASS published a statement by the “executive secretary of the Public Monitoring Commission, Alexei Melnikov,” who claims that Surovikin “is not in a pre-trial detention center.”
Surovikin was reportedly interrogated over several days regarding his ties to Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner mercenary company, news agency Bloomberg reported on June 29, citing informed sources.
UK newspaper the Financial Times previously reported that Surovikin was arrested after Prigozhin’s attempted coup failed, indicating a purge of the security forces by the Kremlin regime. The general’s daughter, however, denied his arrest in a statement to the Russian Telegram news channel Baza.
Russian English-language newspaper the Moscow Times, citing two sources close to Russia’s defense ministry, previously reported that Surovikin had been arrested.
According to multiple sources cited by U.S. newspaper the New York Times, U.S. intelligence agencies believe Surovikin had prior knowledge of Prigozhin’s mutiny.
In addition, investigative journalism outlet the Dossier Center reported on June 28 that Surovikin had become an honorary member of Wagner mercenary company “back in 2017.”