Rob Lee (Twitter)

Just want to emphasize that Surovikin is the commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, and Wagner shot down 7+ aircraft, including several aircraft that weren't armed. Strange thing to do if the commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces was actively supporting you.
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@RALee85:
"A senior Russian general [Surovikin] had advance knowledge of Yevgeny Prigozhin's plans to rebel against Russia's military leadership, according to U.S. officials ...there are signs that other Russian generals may have also supported Prigozhin's attempt"
https://t.co/435vUQKP87 https://t.co/7P5RICzVAv

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@RadioFreeTom He may have realized that he would be under suspicion once the whole thing began because of the positive things Prigozhin said about him. Also, announcing you're taking action before your forces are in Russia is a strange way to conduct a coup. We'll have to wait to find out.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@Joe_Webster_CRR @RadioFreeTom I think some of the helicopters were being used to track the movement of the columns, not necessarily to shoot at them. I think at least two of the aircraft had nothing to do with this. They were reportedly coming back from Ukraine and were shot down.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@cratefacts Agreed, but that is the conclusion people will jump to.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@picassso3989 It appears that Wagner shot first at the aircraft, and that the Russian Air Force was largely reluctant to engage the Wagner columns.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@hey_harps @RadioFreeTom Thanks Greg.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@RadioFreeTom Yeah, but there is a big difference between a mutiny and a coup (both can be poorly executed), which is important to figure out.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@OluwafemiMaduka True, but his statement came about before Wagner forces entered Russia. So it wasn't yet really a challenge to Putin, and this was before they shot down any aircraft.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@IAmArcIvanov Well, if the plan was to replace Shoigu and Gerasimov, and Wagner killed a bunch of your pilots and airmen, that seems like it would be an issue.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

Photo of a Russian GAZ-3340-20 Aleut from over the winter.
https://t.me/Ugolok_Sitha/14444

Necro Mancer (Twitter)

Что интересно, подполковник Женя по кличке "Парус" умер в Бахмуте 21/06/23, на следующий день после публикации этого интервью (полностью тут https://t.me/HersonEnot/1432). Совпадение, наверно #всрф #потерьнет #груз200 #Агафонов

‌Necro Mancer (Twitter)

@KilledInUkraine Nikita Golubev and Alexander Sviridov were not on board. They are alive https://t.me/mobilizationnews/13648

Necro Mancer (Twitter)

RT @Bylbyleva: Донецьк. ранок 28.06.23
в стороні Мар'їнки йде бій, далеко продовжує активно бумкати,
йде хвиля по будинку
стрілецька у Донецького моря, мабуть намагаються збити дрони

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@LogisticThinker @shashj If the commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces was actively supporting this, I would expect he would try to prevent aircraft from flying over these columns or trying to stop them by recruiting commanders at these airfields. There aren't that many bases, and he gives the orders.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@warnerta @yarotrof Yes, it is possible Surovikin secretly supported Prigozhin, but the available evidence suggests that he did not actively support Prigozhin's move. Important to make that distinction because some people will jump to that conclusion.

Rob Lee (Twitter)

@Mart1n_67 You're right. I will correct that.