US intelligence has briefed top military and government officials on Wednesday that Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is preparing military action against top Russian security officials. The New York Times. In other words, the US may have known days earlier that Prigozhin was preparing for a coup, just as intelligence agencies warned that Putin was planning to invade Ukraine by the end of 2021.
However, their information about the invasion of Ukraine was previously made public in an attempt to dissuade Putin from attacking them, but now they remain silent about Prigozhin’s plans. Whatever they say, US officials believe Putin will accuse them of orchestrating the coup, and they have no interest in helping Putin avoid a major explosion, writes the New York Times.
It’s not entirely clear when the U.S. first learned what Prigozhin was planning, but intelligence officials briefed the administration on Wednesday and “received additional confirmation of the plan” on Thursday.
In his message Friday evening, Prigozhin said he did not dare speak to the Russian Defense Ministry or Putin after the Russian military launched a missile attack on Wagner’s troops, adding that Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of Staff Gerasimov would. Do something to punish the “corrupt elite” in Moscow. He invited people to join the rebellion. After the announcement, Wagner’s armored and transport vehicles first entered Rostov and then moved towards Moscow, but on Saturday night in the Lipetsk region, 400 kilometers from the capital, Prigozhin stopped and turned the column.