MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. The pilots killed during the June 24 mutiny performed their duty with honor, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, calling for a moment of silence to pay tribute to them.

"Our comrades in arms died. They did not waver and fulfilled the order and their military duty with honor. I ask you to honor their memory with a minute’s silence," the president said, addressing the military who stopped the insurgency.

On the evening of June 23, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the PMC Wagner, said on his Telegram channel that his units had been attacked, and accused the military leadership of Russia of doing so. The Defense Ministry dismissed these allegations as false. PMC Wagner units who agreed to support Prigozhin headed for Rostov-on-Don and towards Moscow. The FSB opened a case over the call for armed mutiny. Russian President Vladimir Putin in a televised address described the PMC Wagner’s actions as treason.

Later, by agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin. The PMC Wagner’s convoys turned back and returned to their field camps. On Tuesday, the FSB’s public relations center said the criminal case had been dropped.