Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that military units who took part in the suppression of the armed mutiny on June 24 , in fact prevented a civil war in Russia, acting clearly and harmoniously.
"You defended the constitutional order, the life, security and freedom of our citizens. You saved our motherland from upheavals, actually stopping a civil war. In a difficult situation, you acted clearly and harmoniously; through your deeds, you proved your loyalty to the people of Russia and the military oath," Putin said in his address to the security forces.
He added that the people who were sucked into the Wagner mutiny realized the fact the army and the people were not on the side of the rebels.
"The quick and precise deployment of law enforcement agencies made it possible to stop the extremely dangerous development of the situation in the country,” something that helped prevent civilian casualties," Putin emphasized.
"Our comrades-in-arms, pilots, died in the confrontation with the mutineers. They had no fear and honorably fulfilled the order and their military duty," Putin said.
Later in the day, the Russian president said that the enemy would try to use the situation if the mutiny had not been suppressed.
"Chaos in the country would be inevitable, and the enemy, of course, would take advantage of this ... [the enemy] is trying to do so. But nothing works. I hope it does not work out. I am even sure of it. But definitely, absolutely — they would have taken advantage," Putin said during a meeting with military personnel in the Kremlin.
Check out his other statements made during the meeting:
Ukraine has lost 259 tanks and 780 armored vehicles since the start of its "counteroffensive";
Prigozhin earned $940 million from the State in one year;
There is no telling what would have become of the country if the mutiny had succeeded, but all the gains of the fighting would have been lost, the military did not allow that to happen;
Wagner's fighters were respected in the country and showed heroism and sacrifice;
The Wagner group was fully funded by the state;
Those involved in the special military operation should form the backbone of the Defense Ministry's leadership;
The Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu was instructed to ensure that the services of troops are recognized with state awards
Meanwhile, Russian National Guard head Viktor Zolotov did not rule out that Western intelligence services worked in Wagner’s aborted mutiny - the rebellion was inspired by the West and overlapped with Prigozhin's ambitions.
"We knew that we would win, the rebels would not have taken Moscow," Zolotov added.
Besides, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Tuesday that the legal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the private military company (PMC) Wagner, was dismissed on June 27.
Armed Mutiny by Wagner Chief
Earlier on Friday, footage and audio attributed to the Wagner Group and Prigozhin surfaced on social media, which appeared to be calling for the ousting of the Russian military leadership.
The footage and audio were quickly picked up by Ukrainian and US state-funded media outlets that have been reporting extensively on Prigozhin's narrative in recent weeks.
The same day, the FSB opened a criminal case against him for inciting aborted armed mutiny. The authorities said there was a threat of escalation on Russian territory.
The Russian Army leadership, the public, political parties, religious organizations and key Russian politicians, including ex-President Dmitry Medvedev and the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov -- all called on Prigozhin to stop the movement of his troops at this difficult time for Russia.
On Saturday, Prigozhin accepted a proposal to stop the movement of Wagner troops in Russia and take further steps to de-escalate tensions after President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, in agreement with the president of Russia, held talks with Prigozhin.