The army and the people did not take the side of the rebels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to the Wagner uprising and said that the army did not support the rebels.

“The army and the people did not take the side of the rebels,” Russian President Putin said in a speech at the Kremlin.

Putin called on those gathered on the square to observe a minute of silence in memory of the military pilots who died during the uprising.

Russian Defense Minister Shoigu was next to Putin.

“The army and the people did not take the side of the rebels. We did not feel the need to withdraw the troops fighting in Ukraine to put down the rebellion.” said.

The head of the National Guard, Viktor Zolotov, said that the National Guard will be equipped with heavy weapons and tanks after it has to defend Moscow from well-armed rebels.

Zolotov also said that Wagner’s mercenaries, who staged a short-lived mutiny over the weekend, would not be able to take Moscow even if they got to the Russian capital.

Kremlin: Putin’s position is not shaken

The Kremlin said in a statement that it did not agree with the view of “pseudo-experts” that the armed uprising of Wagner mercenaries over the weekend shook Vladimir Putin’s position.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the uprising showed how consolidated Russian society around Putin was when things changed.

“The level of public consolidation around the president is very high. “These events showed how close-knit society has become around the president,” he said.

Peskov said the deal that ended the rebellion had been put into place, and Putin always kept his word.