President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said that an armed mutiny by Wagner mercenaries was a "stab in the back" and that the group's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had "betrayed" Russia, vowing to punish those rebelling.
"This is a stab in the back to our country, to our nation," Putin said in an address to the nation. "What we have been faced with is exactly betrayal. Extravagant ambitions and personal interests led to treason," Putin said referring to Prigozhin.
"All those who consciously stood on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed rebellion, stood on the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, before the law and before our people," he added.