Putin orders Russian armed forces to neutralize instigators of armed rebellion. Prigozhin responds 

Russian leader Vladimir Putin made the statement in his address.

"The Russian Armed Forces have received the necessary order to neutralize those who organized the armed rebellion," he said.

Putin called the actions of Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin "a blow to Russia” and a “stab in the back”. According to him, "those who organized and prepared the armed mutiny betrayed Russia and will be held accountable for it."

The Russian leader also appealed to the military and law enforcement agencies that supported the rebellion and called on them to stop participating in the armed revolt. According to him, he "will not allow Russia to split.”

Prigozhin's reaction

The leader of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, responded to Putin's speech.

"As for the betrayal of the homeland, the president was deeply mistaken, we are not traitors, but patriots of our homeland. We have fought and are still fighting. All of us are Wagner's soldiers. And no one is going to turn himself in at the request of the president, the FSB or anyone else, because we do not want the country to continue to live in corruption, deceit and bureaucracy," he said.

Prigozhin cited the example of the war in Africa. 

According to him, when his army was fighting there, the Russian leadership said that we needed Africa, and then abandoned it because they stole all the money that was supposed to go to help.

"When we were told that we were at war with Ukraine, we went and fought. But it turned out that the ammunition, weapons, and all the money that was allocated for this was also being stolen. And the officials are sitting around, saving it for themselves, for the very occasion that has come today. When someone goes to Moscow," said the leader of the Wagner PMC.

According to Prigozhin, "Now they are not saving anything. They hit convoys with planes and helicopters. At the same time, they hit civilians because they miss. And they hit randomly."

"That's why we are patriots, and those who oppose us today are those who have gathered around the scum," Prigozhin concluded.

• On Friday, June 23, Russian troops allegedly launched a missile attack on a Wagner PMC base. Wagner's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said that 25,000 mercenaries were coming to deal with Sergei Shoigu. Read more about the events here.