MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. Russia’s citizenry stood together as a united front against the recent armed mutiny attempt, President Vladimir Putin said at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

"In the current situation, our country continues to develop at a steady pace. The Russian people are more united than ever. Russia’s political circles and society as a whole clearly demonstrated strong cohesion and a high level of accountability for the fate of our homeland, standing together as one against an armed mutiny attempt," the head of state pointed out.

He also thanked the leaders of the SCO countries for supporting the Russian authorities’ actions. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization who expressed support for the Russian leadership’s actions aimed at safeguarding constitutional structures and the lives and safety of the citizenry. We greatly appreciate it. We intend to continue to deepen our collaborative ties with the SCO member states, which are becoming stronger and more multifaceted," Putin stressed.

On the evening of June 23, Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) founder Yevgeny Prigozhin posted videos to his Telegram channel claiming that his units had come under attack, for which he blamed Russia’s military authorities. The Russian Defense Ministry slammed this allegation as false. Wagner units backing Prigozhin occupied Rostov-on-Don and then headed toward Moscow. The Federal Security Service (FSB) launched a criminal probe into calls for armed mutiny. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address to the nation on June 24, described the Wagner group’s actions as a betrayal. Later, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in coordination with Putin, held talks with Prigozhin that resulted in the Wagner units standing down, reversing course and returning to their base camps.

The Kremlin said that the authorities would not prosecute the Wagner fighters involved in the mutiny, in light of their achievements on the line of engagement in the special military operation. As well, the criminal case was dismissed, the FSB said. Lukashenko noted later that he had suggested Prigozhin turn an abandoned Belarusian military base into a Wagner camp and also promised him full security.

According to Putin, the June 24 attempted mutiny by the Wagner group threatened to morph into a civil war but military personnel and law enforcement officers succeeded in preventing such a dangerous turn of events.