Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin called off his private army’s advance on Moscow after secret agents threatened to harm the families of his chiefs, it has been reported.

British security sources told The Telegraph threats from the intelligence service against leaders of the Wagner group preceded the convoy suddenly turning back before reaching Moscow.

It has also been assessed that the mercenary force had only 8000 fighters, rather than the 25,000 claimed and would most likely have been defeated.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday morning (AEST) gave ex-Wagner soldiers the option of joining the Russian military despite taking part in the bold uprising.

But The Telegraph said Mr Putin wanted to “take out” Wagner’s former leaders.

Mr Putin’s televised address was his first public comment since the weekend’s armed revolt.

He confirmed reports on social media that Wagner forces had downed Russian aircraft in the fighting.

“The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic devastating consequences,” Mr Putin said, adding that the rebellion threatened Russia’s very existence and those behind it would be punished.

There has been no official information about how many pilots died or how many aircraft were shot down.

Some Russian Telegram channels monitoring Russia’s military activity, including the blog Rybar with more than a million subscribers, reported on Saturday that 13 Russian pilots were killed during the day-long mutiny.

Among the aircraft downed were three Mi-8 MTPR electronic warfare helicopters, and an Il-18 aircraft with its crew, Rybar reported.

Mr Putin said “steps were taken on my direct instruction to avoid serious bloodshed” during the insurrection, which ended abruptly with Wagner forces standing down and Mr Prigozhin agreeing to go into exile in neighbouring Belarus.

“Time was needed, among other things, to give those who had made a mistake a chance to come to their senses, to realise that their actions were firmly rejected by society, and that the adventure in which they had been involved had tragic and destructive consequences for Russia and for our state,” Mr Putin said.

Wagner leader Prigozhin also spoke in an 11-minute audio message posted on his press service’s Telegram channel, and gave few clues to his whereabouts or the deal under which he halted the move toward Moscow.

He said his men had been forced to shoot down helicopters that attacked them as they drove nearly 800 kilometres from the south towards the capital, before abruptly calling off the uprising.

The Russian president said he would honour his weekend promise to allow Wagner forces to relocate to Belarus, sign a contract with Russia’s Defence Ministry, or return to their families.

Mr Putin thanked Wagner fighters and commanders who stood down to avoid what he called “fratricidal bloodshed”, and said the vast majority of Wagner’s members were patriots.

He made no mention of Mr Prigozhin.

Numerous Western leaders saw the unrest as exposing Mr Putin’s vulnerability following his decision to invade Ukraine 16 months ago.

“The political system is showing fragilities, and the military power is cracking,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in Luxembourg.