General Sergey Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, had advanced knowledge that the mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was planning a rebellion against Moscow’s defense officials, the New York Times reported.

“The newspaper cited US officials briefed on US intelligence regarding the matter and reported that the officials were “trying to learn if Gen. Sergey Surovikin, the former top Russian commander in Ukraine, helped plan Mr. Prigozhin’s actions last weekend”.

Prigozhin flew into exile in Belarus on Tuesday under a deal that ended a brief mutiny by his Wagner fighters over the weekend, as President Vladimir Putin praised his armed forces for averting a civil war.

The New York Times reported that American officials also said there were signs that other Russian generals also may have supported Prigozhin”, - reads the article.