Military units who took part in the suppression of the attempted armed mutiny on June 24, actually stopped a civil war in Russia, and acted clearly and harmoniously, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
"You defended the constitutional order, and our citizens’ lives, security and freedom. You saved our motherland from turmoil, and in fact prevented civil war. In these difficult moments, you acted clearly and harmoniously; through your deeds, you proved your loyalty to the people of Russia and the military oath," Putin said, addressing the security forces who quashed the insurrection.
The Russian president stressed that “today the historic Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin sees servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces, and the Russian Guard, as well as the staff of the Russian National Guard, the FSB, the Interior Ministry, the Federal Protective Service as well as soldiers and officers, who are the real defenders of the Fatherland, and who - at a tough time for the country, along with their comrades - stood in the way of turmoil, the result of which could have inevitably been chaos."
He said that the people who were sucked into the Wagner mutiny realized that 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.
The Russian head of state underlined that the determination and courage of the servicemen, as well as “the consolidation of Russian society played a huge and decisive role in stabilizing the situation.”
According to him, relocating Russian troops from the special military operation zone to grapple with Wagner’s aborted mutiny gamble was not necessary.
“Units of the Defense Ministry, the National Guard as well as the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and special services ensured the reliable operation of the most important control and strategic centers, the security of border regions, and the strength of the rear of our Armed Forces of all military formations, which continued at that time to heroically fight at the front. We did not have to remove combat units from the special military operation zone,” the Russian president pointed out.
Wagner's Aborted Mutiny Plot
On Friday, June 23, forces of the Wagner Group (PMC) seized the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District in the city of Rostov-on-Don, following accusations leveled against the Russian Ministry of Defense for allegedly striking the group's camps. Both the Russian military and the Federal Security Service have denied the allegations.
On Saturday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko revealed that he had spent the entire day negotiating with Yevgeny Prigozhin, as agreed upon with Russian President Vladimir Putin. As a result of the talks, the Wagner group leader accepted Lukashenko's proposal to stop the movement of his troops in Russia and take measures to de-escalate the situation.
Putin guaranteed that the Wagner group fighters would have the opportunity to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, return home, or move to Belarus.