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Rumours of his whereabouts - and allegiance - are swirling in the aftermath of Prigozhin's Wagner Group mutiny. Who is General Sergei Surovikin and why is he considered a "savage" commander?

A military veteran who served in the Soviet Union's ultimately doomed war with Afghanistan during the 1980s, the 55-year-old is infamous for ordering troops to open fire on pro-democracy protesters in Moscow, when three people were killed during the final days of the Soviet Union in 1991.

He went on to lead Russian forces' intervention during the Syrian War in 2017, where he is accused of complicity in the indiscriminate bombing of opposition fighters and of overseeing chemical weapons attacks, in a campaign thought to have been pivotal in helping Syria's government regain control over most of the country.

What happened with the Wagner mutiny?

Nicknamed "General Armageddon" by the Russian press for his aggressive tactics in the Syrian conflict, Gen Surovikin has been serving as deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine.

The consensus among experts is that Vladimir Putin's decision to have him take charge of Russia's forces in Ukraine is a direct result of his reputation for ruthlessness and brutality.

As Prigozhin's uprising unfolded, he called out to Wagner's fighters telling them to return to base and obey Vladimir Putin.

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But while the mutiny was stood down, the questions about what Gen Surovikin knew and when are only getting louder.

A New York Times report, based on a US intelligence briefing, said on Tuesday he had advance knowledge of the mutiny and that Russian authorities were checking if he was complicit.

The Kremlin on Wednesday played down the report, saying there was, and would be, a lot of speculation and gossip.

Some Russian outlets have reported that Gen Surovikin has since been arrested, but Sky News has not been able to verify if this has happened.

'Keep your eye on him'

Military expert professor Michael Clarke told Sky News that Gen Surovikin is an interesting figure in the aftermath of the mutiny.

"Keep your eye on him," he said. "Because he was close to Prigozhin. There were a lot of rumours that he was somehow implicated."

Mr Clarke referenced the reports in US media that Gen Surovikin may have known about the rebellion "at least a couple of days before it happened".

He added: "Now it may be that American intelligence is just trying to spoil things and actually give Putin something else to worry about.

"I don't think Putin needs any encouragement to be paranoid. But what has happened to Surovikin is very interesting."

Why was he appointed to help oversee the Ukraine campaign last year?

Military analyst Forbes McKenzie, head of McKenzie Intelligence, told Sky News the main reason for his appointment was Gen Surovikin's "brand".

"He's seen as a hero of the former Soviet Republic," he said last year.

"He has shown his ability to wage a war that involves nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, the last of which he used in Syria.

Putin's regime has repeatedly issued threats over using a nuclear weapon, Mr McKenzie said. "We need to think about what the capability is, the intent and the opportunity.

"So they have already signalled their intent, but they would need commanders who would have the capability to do it.

"This is a man who has used chemical weapons in recent history, so that demonstrates capability."