Russia-Ukraine war live: US spy agencies knew ‘something was up’ days before dramatic Wagner coup

US spy agencies had picked up intelligence in mid-June that Wagner mercenary group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was planning armed action, said a report. There were enough signals to be able to tell leadership [in the US] something was up”, reported The Washington Post, citing an unnamed US official. “So I think they were ready for it.” Mr Prigozhin and his troops won’t face criminal charges over his attempted coup in Russia, the Kremlin said. He will be moved to Belarus, a close ally of Russia, after his mercenary army captured army bases in two Russian cities but called off their advance on Moscow at the 11th hour to “avoid bloodshed”. The move marked a humiliating climbdown for Vladimir Putin after he earlier vowed to take revenge on those behind the mutiny. Wagner’s forces were about four hours away from Moscow when news of the dramatic turnaround came. Earlier on Saturday, Mr Putin’s whereabouts had come into question after an aircraft belonging to the presidency was spotted flying from Moscow to St Petersburg. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied Mr Putin had fled. Read More Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin? The Wagner mercenary chief urging a ‘civil war’ against Putin Furious Putin calls Wagner coup ‘treason’: ‘This is a stab in the back to everyone in Russia’ Military vehicles on streets of Rostov-on-Don as Wagner chief claims control of HQ Who are Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner mercenary group