Vladimir Putin has fired General Sergei ‘Armageddon’ Surovikin as head of his aerospace forces, Russian media confirmed today.
The notoriously ruthless commander, 56, vanished from view two months ago and is believed to have been placed under arrest following a coup led by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The Kremlin said that Colonel-General Viktor Afzalov, 55, who dozed off to sleep during a Putin speech about the war, has replaced Surovikin on an ‘interim’ basis.
Surovikin, seen as one of Russia‘s most capable – and cruel – generals, is assumed to have also lost his other role as deputy to armed forces chief General Valery Gerasimov – Putin’s overall war commander.
The demise of Surovikin is seen as a victory for Gerasimov and defence minister Sergei Shoigu in a poisonous power struggle inside Putin’s high command.
Some reports hint that Surovikin will be demoted to a new job but there are also claims that his family has not seen him since he disappeared from view at the time of the…
