A palpably angry President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia made an unplanned televised address to the Russian public on Monday in an attempt to project strength and unity after facing his biggest crisis since the full-scale invasion began last year.

The five-minute speech, airing late on Monday in Moscow, was his first appearance since Saturday morning, when he labelled Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, a traitor for mustering his fighters in a march on Moscow.

Putin opened Monday’s address with a forceful rebuke of the uprising. “Civic solidarity has shown that any blackmail attempts to create internal unrest are doomed to failure,” he said. Putin sought to present a picture of Russian officials reacting in a timely and efficient manner to oppose the armed mutiny.

Executive and legislative power “at all levels” consolidated against the uprising, and along with public and religious organisations “took a firm unequivocal position in support of the constitutional order”, he said.