‘We share your pain’
LONDON - President Vladimir Putin spoke on Friday to a carefully selected group of mothers of Russian soldiers sent to fight in Ukraine who praised his leadership while he told them their sons had not died in vain.
Tens of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the conflict sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the United States.
Hundreds of thousands of Russians have been sent to fight in Ukraine — including some of the more than 300,000 called up as part of a mobilisation announced in September.
Hundreds of thousands more have fled Russia to escape the draft, and dissatisfaction with soldiers’ lack of equipment or training or the chaotic nature of the mobilisation can be found across social media. Protests against the war and the enlistment drive have been crushed by force.
Mr Putin was shown in recordings meeting 17 women at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow to mark Sunday’s Russian Mother’s Day, sitting around a table laden with tea, cakes and berries, and listening to their stories for over two hours.
Mr Putin said he understood their anxiety and concern — and the pain of those who had lost sons.
“I would like you to know that, that I personally, and the whole leadership of the country — we share your pain,” he said.
“We understand that nothing can replace the loss of a son - especially for a mother,” he added, breathing heavily and frequently clearing his throat.
Mr Putin has said he has no regrets about what he calls Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, which he describes as the moment Russia faced down Western hegemony after decades of humiliation since the Soviet Union fell in 1991.