Putin expresses defiance against attempted Wagner rebellion
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his first public remarks after the Wagner Group attempted to march to Moscow and overthrow the government.
In a pre-recorded video statement, Putin thanked the Russians for their endurance, solidarity and patriotism during the ordeal and claimed that any blackmail attempt was doomed to fail.
![PHOTO: In this handout photo released by Russian Presidential Press Service on Monday, June 26, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin sits for a video address in Moscow, Russia.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/putin-jun_hpMain_20230626-093125.jpg)
Putin said an armed rebellion would have been suppressed.
"The organizers of the rebellion, betraying their country, their people, betrayed those who were drawn into the crime. They lied to them, pushed them to death, under fire, to shoot at their own," Putin said.
The Russian president noted that the majority of Wagner fighters were "patriots."
"I thank those soldiers and commanders of the Wagner Group who made the only right decision," Putin said. "They did not go to fratricidal bloodshed, they stopped at the last line."
Putin offered Wagner Group members who participated in the rebellion the option of joining the defense ministry or other law enforcement agencies or returning home.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman, Natalia Shumskaia, Tanya Stukalova and Anastasia Bagaeva