Russia: Putin meets wounded Russian soldiers in Ukraine for the first time

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited wounded Russian soldiers in Ukraine for the first time on Wednesday, three months after the start of the offensive against its neighbor. According to images broadcast on Russian television, Vladimir Putin, dressed in a white coat, exchanged with several soldiers, taking an interest in their towns of origin and their family situation. The soldiers were standing near their beds and their injuries were not apparent.

Putin arrived at one of the Moscow hospitals and talked with the military who were injured in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/pR6A4Rf44l

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Addressing a soldier in blue and white striped pyjamas, the president said his nine-month-old son “will be proud of dad”. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was also present.

On March 25, the Russian army recorded 1,351 soldiers killed in Ukraine

Russia communicates very little about the human toll of the conflict in Ukraine. The latest figures were released on March 25, and at the time the Russian military admitted 1,351 servicemen killed and 3,825 wounded. The president’s spokesman had previously indicated that this visit, 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.

On the ground, the Russian army is advancing with difficulty

Russia says its offensive against 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.

The Russian government admits that the fighting will last a long time

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 of its intervention.