Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, Deputy Commander of the Russian Group in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, knew in advance about Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans to rebel against the Russian military leadership, according to The New York Times, citing US officials familiar with the intelligence data.
Now, according to the sources of the publication, the US authorities are trying to find out if Surovikin took any part in the development of the rebellion plan.
Also, according to sources, there may have been other Russian generals who supported Prigozhin's attempt to change the leadership of the Ministry of Defense by force. Sources note that "Prigozhin would not have raised an uprising if he did not believe that someone in power would come to his aid."
As The New York Times notes, “Putin must now decide whether he believes that General Surovikin helped Prigozhin and how he should react.”
On June 23, Prigozhin announced that the Russian Defense Ministry launched rocket attacks on the rear camps of Wagner PMCs. He promised to respond to the blow, in which, according to him, "many fighters died", and "to deal with those who destroy Russian soldiers." Those who will resist, Prigogine promised to "destroy".
After that, Surovikin turned to the Wagner PMC mercenaries and urged them not to aggravate the domestic political situation.