Kremlin refuses to comment on reported arrest of commander of Russian forces in Ukraine

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that he cannot comment on reports that a senior Russian military commander was arrested for having knowledge of the attempted armed rebellion earlier this month by the paramilitary Wagner Group.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Peskov suggested asking the Russian Defense Ministry about the fate of Sergey Surovikin, the commander of all Russian forces in Ukraine.

He also said there are no plans to create a joint military council of Russia and Belarus following the uprising, which was settled thanks to the mediation of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

Peskov also said he is unaware of the current location of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and declined to speak about the possible resignation of the officers who were in touch with him.

Asked about a survey claiming that the number of people in Russia who are in favor of ending the "special military operation" in Ukraine has almost caught up with the number of those who support it, he said: "Unfortunately, I cannot comment on this, because I do not know what method (was used to conduct it) and where the survey was done."

"The data we have is different. They show absolutely overwhelming support for the special operation, absolute support for the president. Everything is clear there. The whole methodology is clear there," he noted.

He also expressed concern over a series of nuclear disaster response drills conducted on Thursday in the area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

"As for the threat of provocations from the Ukrainian regime, it is constant, and the infrastructural sabotage at the Kakhovka HPP (hydroelectric power plant) has fully demonstrated this," he said.

Peskov pointed out that representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are currently at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and they have observed Russia's efforts aimed at ensuring the stable functioning of the plant and its security.

Earlier in the day, Yury Malashko, the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, announced the beginning of exercises in which emergency response services would practice actions to be taken in the event of the risk of an emergency at the plant.

The head of the military administration of the Dnipropetrovsk region Sergey Lysak, said previously that similar exercises would be held in Kryvyi Rih and Nikopol districts in the region.

Meanwhile, Peskov said that Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Pope's envoy to Moscow, and President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov did not come to any specific agreements at a meeting Wednesday in Moscow.

"It was about exchanging opinions and information on humanitarian issues in the context of Ukrainian affairs. There were no concrete decisions or agreements. If necessary, the dialogue will continue.

"For Russia, the main thing is to achieve the goals that we face, which were formulated by the president…There are certain efforts to bring the percentage of achievement of these goals into the political and diplomatic channel, but so far, unfortunately, there are no prerequisites for this, so the special operation continues," he said.

Peskov also echoed Putin's assessment about the unacceptability of the burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

He said Putin’s comments on the burning this week of the Quran in Sweden were "important.”

On Wednesday, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old immigrant from Iraq, burned a copy of the Muslim holy book under police protection in front of Stockholm Mosque.

Momika, who had previously been denied such a demonstration, tore pages from the Quran and set it on fire.

Before the burning, he put a piece of pork bacon on the book in a particularly offensive gesture to Muslims.