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, according to officials.

US has closely ‘monitored’ power struggle between Prigozhin and Russian government for months

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US to delay Wagner sanctions for fear of siding with Putin: WSJ

Cameron Hudson, a former chief of staff to the US special envoy for Sudan, stated that Washington had a strategy to “target, isolate, and weaken Wagner’s growth in Africa,” adding that by maintaining that approach, Washington is now potentially assisting Putin.