US intelligence officials were able to piece together an extremely detailed and accurate picture of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans that led to his short-lived rebellion, including where and how Wagner planned to move forward, sources familiar with the matter told CNN .
But the intelligence was so classified that it was shared only with select allies, including senior British officials, and not at the broader NATO level, sources told CNN .
It was unclear exactly when Prigozhin would act, according to the reports. But he appears to have decided to go ahead with his plan following a June 10 statement by Russia’s Ministry of Defense that all private military companies, including Wagner, would be forced to sign contracts with Russia’s armed forces starting in July. and essentially absorbed.
The intelligence was so secret that, within the United States, it was disclosed only to the most senior government officials, as well as members of Congress’ “Gang of Eight” who have access to the most sensitive intelligence matters.
The secrecy surrounding intelligence was why some senior European officials and even senior US government officials were taken by surprise by Prigozhin’s Friday attack and the speed with which Wagner’s forces marched into Rostov. -on-Don and headed towards Moscow on Saturday morning, the sources said.
Some NATO officials expressed frustration that intelligence was not shared. But doing so would risk compromising extremely sensitive sources and methods, the sources explained.
Ukrainian officials were also not informed about the intelligence in advance, officials said, mainly due to fears that conversations between US and Ukrainian officials could be intercepted by adversaries.
Joe Biden spent the days after the rebellion failed talking to allies, including the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Canada, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During those conversations, he shared what information the US had about the rebellion, officials said, in order to ensure the leaders had a better understanding of what was known to US intelligence.
Source: CNN Brasil
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