A Russian general who may have known about the failed Wagner mutiny has not been seen since Saturday amid reports he has been arrested.

General Sergei Surovikin, who has reportedly been missing since he recorded a hostage-style video as the coup began, may have had prior knowledge of Prigozhin’s armed mutiny, according to US intelligence sources.

Officials are trying to establish whether General Surovikin, who had a close relationship with Prigozhin, helped plan the mutiny.

Russian ministry of defence sources told the Moscow Times on Wednesday he had been arrested.

One source alleged General Surovikin had “chosen the side” of Prigozhin during his failed mutiny and it was feared he was part of the “Prigozhin coalition”. The Wagner chief had previously described General Surovikin as the most capable commander in the Russian army.

General Surovikin had worked closely with the Wagner chief, operating as the point of contact between Moscow and the paramilitary group. He had been demoted in January after clashing with Putin over strategy. “We fought together with you, took risks, we won together,” Surovikin said in a video to Wagner fighters posted on Telegram in the early hours of Saturday.

“We are of the same blood, we are warriors. I urge you to stop. The enemy is just waiting for the political situation to escalate in our country.”

“There were just too many weird things that happened that, in my mind, suggest there was collusion that we have not figured out yet,” Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, told the New York Times. “Think of how easy it was to take Rostov,” he added. “There are armed guards everywhere in Russia, and suddenly, there’s no one around to do anything?”

It comes as Vladimir Putin began overhauling his security services following the failed coup, surrounding himself with supporters to reassert his control.

A source close to Prigozhin told the Financial Times the security services “have started shaking down sympathisers and those who violated their oath”.

Viktor Zolotov, an ally of Putin, was rewarded on Tuesday with a promotion for his National Guard, which Putin said will play a larger role in the Ukraine war.

The Daily Telegraph, London