Three sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN that American intelligence agencies believe Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had been preparing a significant challenge to Russia’s military leadership for some time, though it was unclear what the end goal would be.

According to two of the persons, intelligence officials informed the Gang of Eight, a group of congressional leaders, earlier this week of Wagner movements and equipment buildups close to Russia.

Also Read: Has Belarusian President Lukashenko convinced Prigozhin’s Wagner Group to halt advances in Russia?

Western and US intelligence officials noticed indicators One western intelligence official and another individual acquainted with the intelligence claimed that Prigozhin was assembling guns and ammunition in preparation for such a maneuver.

According to the official, they think Prigozhin intentionally misled people when he said there was a lack of ammunition for operations in Ukraine in order to prepare the stage for a potential military challenge against Russian authorities.

It was difficult to determine how seriously Prigozhin was taking his threats against the Russian military and where he would move his forces because “it all happened very quickly,” according to a source familiar with the intelligence.

As previously reported by CNN, senior US officials were forced to postpone international visits and call emergency meetings across the administration as a result of how quickly the crisis grew on Friday night and into Saturday.

Mutinous Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday he had ordered his fighters, who had been advancing on Moscow, to turn around and return to their bases in order to avoid bloodshed.Prigozhin said his fighters had advanced 200 km (124 miles)towards Moscow in the last 24 hours.

Also Read: Who funds Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group?

Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, stated on Saturday that his country’s military could defend Europe from Russian aggression, but he also said, “Now is the time to provide all the weapons necessary for defence.”He claimed that Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and F-16 fighter jets were needed by Kiev. “Only our defence depends on the security of the eastern flank of Europe.”

According to a statement released by the State Department on Saturday, “Secretary Blinken spoke today with Foreign Ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to discuss the ongoing situation in Russia.”