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Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the recent actions of the Wagner group in a televised address on Monday night, saying that the members of the Wagner private military group could either continue their service by entering into a contract with the Russian defense ministry or go to Belarus.
The majority of the fighters and commanders of the Wagner group are patriots of Russia, devoted to their people and state, Putin said in his address to Russian citizens.
It was Putin's first statement since the Wagner group incident occurred over the weekend.
During the address, the Russian president also thanked all Russian servicemen, law enforcement officers and special services who prevented the mutiny.
"I thank all our servicemen, law enforcement officers, special services who stood in the way of the rebels. You have remained faithful to your duty and the people," Putin said.
He also thanked Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for his role as mediator in resolving the attempted mutiny.
Russia's National Anti-terrorism Committee announced on Saturday that a counterterrorist operation regime was introduced in Moscow city, the Moscow region and the Voronezh region to prevent possible terrorist acts after the Wagner private military group was accused of trying to organize an armed rebellion.
However, Moscow and Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private military group, later reached a compromise through mediation with Lukashenko.
Russia's National Anti-terrorism Committee declared on Monday that the legal regime of the counterterrorist operation had been canceled in Moscow, the Moscow region and Voronezh region due to the normalization of the situation.
(CGTN)
