Media: The US Secretary of State Blinken sent an urgent telegram about Pryhozhynʼs rebellion. What was it about?

Author:
Anna Kholodnova
Date:

The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in an urgent telegram on June 23, ordered State Department employees not to talk about the mutiny staged by the PMC "Wagner" and its founder Yevhen Pryhozhyn in Russia.

Axios reports this with reference to three American officials.

The publication notes that the urgent telegram, which was sent to all American diplomats around the world, showed the level of anxiety in the Biden administration about the events in Russia. And it also demonstrated how important control over public and private information is for the White House and the State Department.

In the event that representatives of foreign countries ask American diplomats about the development of events in Russia, they should answer that the United States is monitoring the situation, the telegram said. It was also noted that the situation is being dealt with directly by the Secretary of State and his closest staff.

According to one Axios interviewer, among those who received the cable, the impression was that it was sent to make sure that no American diplomat said anything that could give the impression of the US involvement in the events in Russia.

Another US official said the situation in Russia was unclear at the time the cable was sent, so Blinken wanted to make sure US officials kept quiet until more details were available.