Prigozhin's mutiny prompted the Kremlin to beef up its most loyal troops with heavy weapons.

Rosgvardia, or the Russian Guard, will be rearmed with heavy weapons: tanks and artillery, Rosgvardia commander Viktor Zolotov announced on 27 June.

Speaking to the press pool after a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, Army General Zolotov declined to name the types or quantity of weaponry promised to the Russian Guard, explaining that “everything depends on the funding available for this purpose.”

He did not elaborate on the shipping terms either.

The Russian Guard is the former Internal Troops force under the Ministry of Interior Affairs.

After its reorganization in 2016, Rosgvardia entered under the direct control of President Putin. The guard is armed with light weapons but also uses combat aircraft, armored personnel carriers, mortars and howitzers. The force is meant by law to act as military police and help law enforcement during anti-terror operations inside the country.

The Rosgvardia is mostly known for its violent crackdown on peaceful protests in Russian cities.

In spite of Rosgvardia’s passive stance during the Wagner army group’s last week occupation of Rostov-on-Don, a city of 1 million residents in southern Russia, Zolotov praised its troops for a “great job”. He dismissed allegations that Rosgvardia personnel stood and watched as Wagner mercenaries marched through the city, without resisting.

Zolotov assured that the guard would have defended Moscow against the rebels.

Viktor Zolotov, a former bodyguard of Putin, is under US and EU sanctions for his support for the war in Ukraine. Rosgvardia troops take an active part in the war.