Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the "organizers of the rebellion" that his country faced "will stand before justice," confirming that Wagner members can sign an agreement with the Russian Ministry of Defense or go to Belarus, accusing the West of "wanting to ignite a civil war" in Russia.

He added in a speech: "The organizers of this rebellion must understand that they will stand before justice. Everyone knows that this is a criminal act and it would have weakened our state."

He continued: "We are under threat from abroad, but those who planned this rebellion made it a kind of suicide act, which is what the West and the Nazis want... They want Russian soldiers to fight each other, for civilians and soldiers to be killed, and they want Russia to fail and for our society to be scattered."

Putin added during his speech: "They are trying to take revenge, but they made a mistake and it backfired on them, especially concerning those special forces who swore to protect the country and made sacrifices to save Russia."

Putin also touched on the military achievements of the Wagner group before the short rebellion launched by its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, saying: "We know that the vast majority of the Wagner group is loyal to Russia and bravely defended Donbass... and they stopped the bloodshed by backing down (from the rebellion)."

Regarding the fate of those who backed down from the rebellion, Putin said: "We must think about those who decided to take this step, which would have been tragic and had catastrophic consequences for the Russian state. I thank the Wagner soldiers who made the right decision to stop, turn back, and avoid a bloodbath."

The Russian president also offered "two options" to these individuals, saying: "I demand that everyone contact the Ministry of Defense... All those who have returned home should contact the ministry and their requests will be met, and I promise you this and repeat it, there will be a choice for Russian soldiers who admitted their mistake."

The second option is for them to go to Belarus, which mediated to end the brief rebellion, and in this regard, Putin thanked its president Lukashenko "for his role in achieving a peaceful solution."

Putin considered that "national sentiment saved us and saved the state in general."