(Adnkronos) – Former general of the Russian forces deployed in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, removed from office after falling out of favor in 2023, is now serving as head of a “group of military specialists” in Algeria, a country that cooperates intensively with Russia on defense matters, as evidenced by photographs of the Victory Day anniversary celebrations published by the Russian embassy in Algiers and reposted by pro-war Russian blogs.
Surovikin had left the scene after the failed revolt of Evgheny Prigozhin and his Wagner men in June 2023. It was then suspected that he had been aware of the plans in advance and for this reason he had been arrested even though his detention had not been officially confirmed. Last February, deputy Viktor Sobolev, in the Duma Defense Commission, announced that Surovikin was working as a military advisor in an African country, without specifying further. Between 2018 and 2022, Algeria purchased 73 percent of its weapons systems from Russia. Algeria is the third largest buyer of Russian weapons after India and China.
