US officials 'caught off guard' by Wagner mutiny

US and European officials were reportedly caught off guard by the attempted coup in Russia.

Pentagon and White House officials gathered for emergency discussions on Friday night when details of the chaos emerged, CNN reported.

Despite the growing tensions between Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Russian military hierarchy, few had predicted how far Prigozhin would go.

One US official told CNN it had been difficult to tell “how much was talk and how much was real” because rhetoric had long been escalating “without anything actually happening.”

Joe Biden has been briefed on the chaotic situation in Russia with US officials describing it as “serious”. US secretary of state Antony Blinken was making phone calls to allied capitals.

A White House National Security Council spokesman said: “We are monitoring the situation and will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments.”

A US official told CNN this crisis was “real” but the Pentagon and White House were waiting to see how it developed.

Steve Hall, former CIA chief of Russia operations, said it was in a “different league” to Prigozhin’s previous complaints against the Russian military hierarchy.