(ANSA-AFP) - MOSCOW, NOV 25 - Russian President Vladimir
Putin on Friday told a group of mothers whose sons are fighting
in Ukraine that he shares the pain of those who have lost family
members in the conflict. The meeting took place ahead of
Mother's Day, which Russia will mark on Sunday, and amid
mounting anger from Russian soldiers' families after a chaotic
military draft. "I want you to know: I personally and the entire
leadership of the country share this pain," Putin told the women
at his residence near Moscow. "We understand that nothing can
replace the loss of a son, a child," he said in his opening
remarks which lasted just a few minutes. "I do not dare say any
formal, standard things related to expressing condolences," he
said. He added that some news reports about Moscow's offensive
in Ukraine could not be trusted. "There is a lot of fake news,
deceit and lies," he said. Putin, who has introduced legislation
that effectively bans any public criticism of the offensive in
Ukraine, told the women they should be wary of what they read on
the internet. "It is clear that life is more complex than what
is shown on our TV screens or even on the internet, nothing can
be trusted there," he said. Earlier on Friday, Putin's spokesman
Dmitry Peskov said the rest of the discussion would be shown
"depending on the conversation." (ANSA-AFP).
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