Gen Sergei Surovikin, has reportedly lost his job as air force chief | BBC News |

For several months Gen Surovikin was in charge of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine but he has not been seen since the Wagner mutiny in June.

During the hours that Wagner mercenaries marched towards Moscow on 24 June, Gen Surovikin appeared in a video appealing to them to return to base.

But his awkward performance was later compared to a hostage-style video. The general was known to have good relations with Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who reserved his loathing for other figures in the defence hierarchy.

In the weeks after the June revolt, there were unconfirmed reports by Russian military bloggers that Gen Surovikin had been detained for questioning. But officials denied he was being held in a pre-trial detention centre and one retired general said that he was merely "resting" and unavailable.