Russian President Vladimir Putin said moves taken by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime ally, to bring his troops into a key Russian city amounted to a "stab in the back."

Putin didn't mention Prigozhin by name, but said that "necessary orders have been given" to defend Russia in a recorded address aired on Russian television on Saturday.

"Actions that divide our unity are in essence defeatism before one's own people," he said. "This is a stab in the back of our country and our people."

-ABC News' KJ Edelman

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been briefed by the country's security agencies about what was referred to as an "attempted armed rebellion," according to Russia's state-run media.

The late-night statement from Putin's spokesman suggested that the Kremlin considered Wagner Group's move into Rostov-on-Don, a key Russian city close to the border with Ukraine, to be a "rebellion."

Wagner's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in an audio message on Friday claimed his forces would now punish Russia's defense minister and chief of general staff, telling other units to stand down and not offer resistance.

"Special services, law enforcement agencies, namely the Ministry of Defense, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rosgvardiya, in round-the-clock mode, constantly report to the president on the measures taken in the context of the implementation of the instructions previously given to him," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.

-ABC News' Tanya Stukalova and Patrick Reevell

The Wagner Group is a private military organization run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, with tens of thousands of fighters, according to U.S. officials.

Earlier this year, the U.S. labeled the group a "significant transnational criminal organization" and levied new sanctions, while human rights observers this week said they suspected Wagner fighters were linked to the mass killing of people in Mali last year.

Government reports, statements from U.S. officials and insights from experts, as well as other sources, shed light on the Wagner group's history and goals, its alleged wrongdoings and its importance to Russia -- in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world.

-ABC News’ Nathan Luna, Leah Vredenbregt and Ivan Pereira

Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, said on Saturday that the headquarters of the Southern Military District and all military facilities in Rostov-on-Don were under his control.

Prigozhin in a video demanded that Kremlin bring him Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Sergei Shoigu.

He also threatened in the video that he would go to Moscow.

"We will destroy anyone who stands in our way," he said in one of a series of video and audio recordings posted on social media.

He added, "We are moving forward and will go until the end."

U.S. President Joe Biden and other G-7 leaders are set to unveil future support for Ukraine on Wednesday after the conclusion of a high-stakes NATO summit in Lithuana's capital.

"President Biden and G-7 leaders will make a major announcement alongside President Zelenskyy this afternoon outlining our long-term commitments to support the people of Ukraine," U.S. National Security Council Senior Director for Europe Amanda Sloat said during a press briefing in Vilnius on Wednesday morning. "The United States, along with G-7 leaders, will announce our intent to help Ukraine build a military that can defend itself and deter a future attack."

"The launch of this process today will start a series of bilateral negotiations with Ukraine on the reaching of bilateral security commitments to help make this a reality," she added. "In particular, this process will ensure that the military assistance we provide Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression continues to be part of a long-term investment in Ukraine’s future force."

That investment will include making sure "Ukraine has a sustainable fighting force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future, a strong and stable economy, and the help Ukraine needs to advance the reform agenda to support the good governance necessary to advance Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations, which Ukraine recommits itself to as part of this declaration," according to Sloan.

"Taken together, we believe the declaration we will announce today seeks to ensure Ukraine's future as a free, independent, democratic, and sovereign nation," she told reporters. "This multilateral declaration will send a significant signal to Russia that time is not on its side."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle