Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a televised address in Moscow, Russia, June 26, 2023, in this still image taken from video. Kremlin.ru/Handout via REUTERS
(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin made a defiant televised address on Monday evening, saying he had deliberately let Saturday's 24-hour mutiny by the Wagner militia go on as long as it did to avoid bloodshed, and that it had reinforced national unity.
The statement, his first on the issue since he spoke on Saturday promising to crush the mutiny, appeared intended to draw a line under an event that numerous Western leaders saw as exposing Putin's vulnerability since invading Ukraine 16 months ago.
