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US knew Wagner chief’s Vladimir Putin rebellion plans? ‘Kept it secret as…’
The intelligence was so secret that even within the US only the most senior administration officials had access.
US intelligence officials gathered detailed and accurate plans of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s short-lived rebellion against Russian president Vladimir Putin, CNN reported. The information included where and how Wagner planned to advance but the intelligence was kept private and only shared with a few allies including UK, the report added.
For US officials, it was unclear when Prigozhin would act but he decided to move forward with his plan following a June 10 declaration by Russia’s ministry of defense that private military companies including Wagner would be forced to sign contracts with the military in July and will then be absorbed by the ministry.
The intelligence was so secret that even within the US only the most senior administration officials had access. This comes as Prigozhin halted his march to avoid Russian bloodshed, he said.
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The secrecy resulted in some senior European officials and even senior officials across the US government being caught off guard by the attack and the speed with which Wagner forces marched into Rostov-on-Don, the report claimed.
“It was an extremely tight hold,” one person familiar with the intelligence told CNN while some NATO officials expressed frustration that the intelligence was not shared. Doing so would have risked compromising extremely sensitive sources and methods, it added.
Even Ukrainian officials were not told about the intelligence in advance due to fears that conversations between US and Ukrainian officials might be intercepted. US president Joe Biden spoke with allies, including the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky following the rebellion. During those conversations, he shared what information the US had about the rebellion, officials told CNN.
