Vladimir Putin instructed his troops that they had “stopped a civil war” yesterday as he tried to win again assist following the tried coup by Wagner troopers.

The Kremlin chief mentioned Moscow forces had proven “loyalty to the people of Russia” and guarded the “Motherland and its future” within the face of the weekend’s revolt.

The speech from contained in the Kremlin got here as Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin arrived in Belarus to start his exile as a part of a deal negotiated by its chief Aleksandr Lukashenko.

Putin addressed 2,500 members of the army, safety forces and nationwide guard gathered in a sq.. And he revealed that Moscow had paid Wagner practically £800million for his or her half in Russia’s battle towards Ukraine.

He instructed troops: “You’ve essentially stopped a civil war. You have defended the constitutional order, the lives, security and freedom of our citizens.

“In this difficult situation, you have acted precisely and harmoniously. You have proved by your deeds your loyalty to the Russian people and the military oath.

“You have shown your responsibility for the fate of our Motherland and its future.”

Putin additionally confirmed that some Russian pilots had been killed throughout Prigozhin’s revolt when plane had been downed and honoured them with a minute’s silence.

But he claimed his forces had not been weakened by the coup, which began on Friday evening and was deserted 24 hours later.

Thousands of Wagner troops occupied a key army base at Rostov-on-Don and headed to Moscow in a convoy as a part of a “march for justice” after Prigozhin criticised high defence chiefs.

Putin yesterday instructed how the catering firm owned by Prigozhin had made thousands and thousands from state contracts to feed Russian troops.

He added: “I do hope that, as part of this work, no one stole anything, or, let’s say, stole less, but we will, of course, investigate all of this.” Prigozhin, a former convict and Putin ally, surfaced in Minsk after flying in from Rostov-on-Don

Russia’s defence ministry mentioned his group would now hand over their heavy weapons to Moscow earlier than signing up with its army. But Prigozhin’s 25,000 males nonetheless seemed to be fuming about the best way the coup ended. One fighter branded the previous chief a “bald waste of space”. Another mentioned: “It’s been another senseless revolt.”

Western analysts declare the aborted coup has left the previous KGB agent weaker than ever.

On Monday, PM Rishi Sunak mentioned the flip of occasions confirmed “real cracks” within the Moscow regime.