NEW YORK, June 25. /TASS/. US intelligence warned legislators of the country’s Congress in advance about a possible struggle between the Wagner private military company (PMC) and the Russian government, CNN reported citing its unnamed sources as saying.
According to the US broadcaster, "top American officials said they saw indications of tensions between the Kremlin and the Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin."
"American officials determined as early as January there was an internal power struggle underway between the private military group Wagner and the Russian government, and have been gathering and closely monitoring intelligence on the volatile dynamic ever since," CNN reported.
On the evening of June 23, the Telegram channel of Wagner private military company founder Yevgeny Prigozhin posted several audio records with his statements, in which he claimed that strikes had allegedly been delivered against his formations and accused the country’s military leadership of that. In the wake of this, the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia has opened a criminal case into a call for an armed mutiny. The FSB urged Wagner fighters not to obey Prigozhin’s orders and take measures for his detention.
Russia’s Defense Ministry dismissed as untrue the reports that Russian forces had allegedly delivered a strike against "the rear camps of the Wagner private military company."
In his televised address to citizens on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the actions by the Wagner private military company an armed mutiny and betrayal and assured that harsh measures would be taken against the insurgents.