MOSCOW | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday visited wounded Russian soldiers in Ukraine for the first time, three months following the start of the offensive once morest its neighbor, calling them “heroes”.
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“These people who risk their health, their lives for the population and the children of Donbass (eastern Ukraine, editor’s note), for the good of Russia, all are heroes”, he said following this visit. in a meeting with government officials.
A little earlier, according to images broadcast on Russian television, Mr. Putin, dressed in a white coat, exchanged with several soldiers, being interested in their cities of origin and their family situation. The soldiers were standing near their beds and their injuries were not apparent.
Addressing a soldier in blue and white striped pajamas, the president said his nine-month-old son “will be proud of dad.” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was also present.
Russia communicates very little regarding the human toll of the conflict in Ukraine. The latest figures were released on March 25, and at the time the Russian military had admitted 1,351 servicemen killed and 3,825 wounded.
The president’s spokesman had previously indicated that this meeting with soldiers, as the offensive in Ukraine enters its fourth month, does not signal “a new stage”.
“His schedule just allows him to go in person,” Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia says its offensive once morest Ukraine, launched on February 24, aims to protect Russian-speaking populations from genocide and to “denazify” the country.
The authorities also assure that it is going as planned, even if faced with fierce Ukrainian resistance, Moscow gave up its offensive on Kyiv at the end of March and concentrated its operations in the East.
Despite fierce fighting for three months, the Russian army advances with great difficulty, suggesting a long conflict of attrition.
Russia’s defense minister and the secretary of Russia’s powerful Security Council both hinted on Tuesday that Moscow would have to fight a long fight in Ukraine to achieve the goals.
