Putin tells mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine he ‘shares this pain’

President Vladimir Putin has told mothers of killed Russian soldiers that he empathised with them, saying he shared in their suffering and loss of their sons.

In a meeting today with the bereaved mothers of Russian military killed on the frontline of his war, Putin said that he shared their pain and told them not to believe the ‘fake news’ about his invasion.

Hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers have been sent to fight in Ukraine – including some of the more than 300,000 reservists who were called up as part of a mobilisation announced by Putin in September.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with mothers of military personnel deployed to the front-line of his war, pictured today, November 25

The war in Ukraine has killed or wounded tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides, according to the United States’ estimations. The Russian invasion has also triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis.

Putin sat with the 17 women in his palatial residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, west of Moscow, surrounded by a table filled with tea, cakes and bowls of fresh berries, claiming that felt their loss.

Putin said he understood the anxiety and concern of soldiers’ mothers – and the pain of those who had lost sons in Ukraine. 

‘I would like you to know that, that I personally, and the whole leadership of the country – we share your pain,’ Putin said.

‘We understand that nothing can replace the loss of a son – especially for a mother,’ he said, breathing heavily, and frequently clearing his throat. ‘We share this pain.’

Footage showed the mothers listening to Putin’s remarks, but their own comments to the Russian president were not shown in the recorded television clip.

Putin also told them he has no regrets about launching his war – or what he claims is Russia’s ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine.

Putin told the mothers he has no regrets about launching what he calls Russia’s ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine

Putin told the Russian mothers: ‘I would like you to know that, that I personally, and the whole leadership of the country – we share your pain’

Putin also told them he has no regrets about launching his war – or what he claims is Russia’s ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine

The Russian leader continues to spin propaganda, claiming the war as a watershed moment when Russia can finally stand up to an arrogant Western hegemony after decades of humiliation in the years since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine and the West say Putin has no justification for what they cast as an imperial-style war of occupation. Ukraine says it will fight until the last Russian soldier is ejected from its territory.

Ukraine does not disclose its losses. Russia last publicly disclosed its losses on September 21, when Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said 5,937 Russian soldiers had been killed. But that number is far below most international estimates.

The United States’ top general estimated that, as of November 9, Russia and Ukraine had each seen more than 100,000 of their soldiers killed or wounded.