Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech late on Monday in which he said he had ordered to “avoid bloodshed” that he believed Ukraine and the West wanted in the failed uprising by the Wagner paramilitary group, thanking Russians for their “patriotism.” and unity, reports AFP.

In his address to the nation, which lasted just 5 minutes, Putin also said that all the necessary decisions to neutralize the threat had been taken from the beginning.

The riot would still have been suppressed, and the organizers would have realized that their actions were criminal, he adds.

“From the very beginning of the events, on my direct instructions, measures were taken to avoid great bloodshed,” Putin said in a televised address, assessing that the West and Ukraine wanted “such a fratricidal result.”

He thanked Alexander Lukashenko for peace with Wagner.

The Russian president says that the “vast majority” of Wagner PMC mercenaries are Russian patriots.

“I thank those fighters and commanders of the “Wagner” PMC who made the only correct decision – they did not follow the path of fratricidal bloodshed, they stopped at the last line,” Putin said in an address to the nation.

He also noted that these fighters will have “the opportunity to continue their service in Russia by concluding a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other law enforcement agencies, or return to their relatives and friends.” Anyone who wants to can go to Belarus,” CNN reports.

During his address to the people, Putin did not mention Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin at all.

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• Yevgeny Prigozhin’s first message after the failed uprising in Russia / What he says about the role of the leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko