Russian President Vladimir Putin has commented on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny attempt in an address to the nation.

The president said that any attempts to “stir unrest” are doomed to fail.

He added that the Russian leadership had made “all the decisions to neutralise the threat, to protect the constitutional order and citizens’ safety”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously said that Putin’s address would be “pivotal for Russia’s destiny”.

During the speech, Putin commented on the Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny. According to him, “national traitors, Western foes, and Nazis” in Ukraine wanted the Russian society “to choke in a bloody feud”.

“The people behind the mutiny betrayed their country and those who they pulled into treachery,” he said.

Putin mentioned the Wagner Group and called the mercenaries “patriots of Russia loyal to their nation and state”, adding that they were exploited and made to go against their “brothers in arms”.

The president also mentioned the Russian pilots killed during the mutiny, thus confirming their deaths. He did not provide any details.

Putin thanked the mercenaries who “made the only right decision” and “stopped before reaching the point of no return”. He offered them several options: to sign a contract with the Russian Defence Ministry, to go home to their families, or to leave for Belarus.

At the end of the speech, Putin thanked Belarus’ Alyaksandar Lukashenka for his contribution to finding a peaceful solution.

Lukashenka’s speech was previously announced for the same evening, but it was postponed until 27 June.