Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Monday that those responsible for the armed revolt over the weekend would "be brought to justice", NBC News reported. Addressing the nation for the first time since the short-lived rebellion ended, Putin appeared defiant but offered little clarity about his planned response. "Any blackmail is doomed to failure," he said, claiming his forces could have crushed a mutiny that posed the biggest challenge to his rule in more than 20 years had the mercenary fighters not turned back from Moscow. Putin also thanked the Russian people for their support and claimed the crisis had only served to unite the country. The feud between Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russia's military brass came to a violent head on Friday, with his forces capturing key army headquarters in southern Russia and then heading north to threaten the capital. However, Prigozhin made a stunning announcement on Saturday that his troops were "turning our columns around and going back to field camps" to avoid bloodshed in the Russian capital. Earlier Monday, Prigozhin issued a defiant defense of his own actions and denied trying to topple Putin. In his speech on Monday, Putin again labeled the organizers of the rebellion traitors. “This was a colossal threat,” the Russian leader said, according to NBC News . Putin said Kyiv and its backers sought the internal conflict that broke out on Russian soil, but provided no evidence to support these claims. The Russian President also praised the fighters who seized a Russian city and marched toward Moscow before stopping short, suggesting they could join the Russian military or move safely to Belarus. Related articles: 'There will be bombing like they have never seen before' Did Putin make Steve Witkoff wait 8 hours? Is Russia planning to attack another European country? Putin ready to mediate between US and Iran “The majority of the Wagner company are also patriots of Russia. They have shown their courage in defending Donbas and yet were encouraged to fight against their compatriots," he said, referring to the region in eastern Ukraine where Wagner has led much of the fighting. "By turning back they avoided further bloodshed,” he added. “We have to think about the people who actually decided to do this."
