Of course there are flawed VPNs and honeypot Tor nodes out there. The fight to track people and censor information is ongoing 24/7 around the globe.
Random event or not, if a government feels that it has to plug a leak as opposed to pwning/backdooring it then to me this means they chose the lesser evil and they really cannot crack ProtonMail. If that's indeed the case then this sends the message to me that I'd like my email to be better protected and I might switch away from GMail.
Whether there is a bigger game involved though, I can't know. Can you?
The government does not need to tell you anything and when it says it can't 'break' something, try and remember ─ you can dance like nobody is watching, but make sure you encrypt like everybody is watching.
In context of 5/9/14+ eyes, the nomenclature of solid advertising might differ from your interpretation, where perceptions matter ─ ranging from honeypots, compromised Tor exit nodes to dubious VPN providers, absence of warrant canaries to flawed encryption products etc. It is probably best to exercise caution and remain sceptical, rather than start endorsing products, based solely on a single random event.