Sergei Surovikin, the former commander of the Joint Group of Forces in the Northern Military District zone, was spotted abroad.
Blogger Sergei Kolyasnikov published Surovikin's photo on Telegram. in the picture, Surovikin is seen sitting in the hall where an official event is taking place.
"Sergei Surovikin is already at work, although without an official position yet. The photo is clearly not Russia, detectives will understand,” the blogger wrote in the caption.
Kolyasnikov later said that General Surovikin indeed took part in an official event outside Russia. Surovikin still remains at the disposal of the Russian Ministry of Defense, even though his card was removed from the website of the department.
"If they decide to fire Surovikin, he will be able to find a job easily. There are some serious structures that would like to see him working for them. However, it was personal order from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief to keep Surovikin in service. For what? Perhaps we'll find out,” Kolyasnikov said.