Wagner rebellion: Prigozhin made a deceiving maneuver before entering Russia

US intelligence officials believe the head of Wagner’s forces, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been planning a major challenge to Russia’s military leadership for some time, noting that it wasn’t clear what the end goal was.
Western intelligence official said that US and Western intelligence officials saw signs that Prigozhin was making preparations for such a move, including stockpiling weapons and ammunition.
The intelligence official added that they believe Prigozhin’s claims about a lack of ammunition for operations in Ukraine were a deliberate deception to help lay the groundwork for a potential military challenge to Russian leaders.
“It happened very quickly,” a Western intelligence official said, and it was difficult to know how seriously Prigozhin threatened the Russian military and where he would take his soldiers.
US officials were caught off guard by the speed with which the situation developed Friday night and escalated into Saturday, causing senior officials to cancel planned international flights and hold emergency meetings across the government.