Putin revealed that nearly 700000 Russian soldiers participated in special military operations

Russian President Putin made a speech at the meeting

Reported on June 15 by the reference news website According to the report on the website of Russia's independent television station on June 15, Russian President Putin revealed that there are nearly 700000 Russian soldiers in the special military operation zone against Ukraine at present when he met with the participants of the "Heroic Age" project.

He said: "The current participants of the 'Age of Heroes' project are 80 people, while in the special military operation area, we have nearly 700000 people."

He stressed that Russia cherishes these soldiers and always thinks of them.

Putin pointed out: "We love you and regard you as a member of our family. This is normal. When you are fighting, when bullets are whistling, when life is threatened, who is thinking? We are thinking every minute, because Russia's future depends on you."

According to the report, Putin said before that the Russian soldiers can work for the country, not save their lives, and can rely on them.

Extended reading:

Russian Defense Minister: In the past five months, Russian troops have captured 880 square kilometers of land in Ukraine

According to Russia's Tass News Agency and "Russia Today" (RT), on May 31 local time, when Russian Defense Minister Belovsov attended the meeting of the CSTO defense ministers in Almaty, he said that the Russian armed forces were "systematically weakening" the operational potential of the Ukrainian army, occupying nearly 880 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in the past five months.

Belovsov said that in May this year, the Ukrainian armed forces lost more than 35000 military personnel and 2700 weapons. Among the weapons destroyed by the Russian army, there are 290 tanks and armored vehicles, including 4 Abrams tanks, 7 Panther tanks and 12 Bradley armored vehicles. In addition, there are 11 aircraft, 4 helicopters, 730 field guns and multiple rocket launching systems.

Belovsov said that the Russian army seized 28 communities in Ukraine in May, "on the whole, 880 square kilometers of territory has been seized this year." In addition, Russian media said that if this statement is confirmed, Russia has seized more land in the past five months than in the whole year of 2023.

At the meeting, Belovsov also introduced the latest situation of the Russian Ukrainian conflict. According to him, the Russian armed forces are making progress in all tactical directions, including forcing the Ukrainian army to retreat 8 to 9 kilometers near the Kharkov region of Ukraine.

Belovsov also accused Ukraine of "stepping up efforts" to attack Russia's civilian infrastructure. He said that Ukraine has lost the battlefield initiative, which is to "show Western sponsors that they have the ability to cause damage to Russia" before the Swiss "Peace Summit".

Russian Defense Minister Belovsov delivered a speech on the 31st (Tass News Agency video screenshot)

After the beginning of the Russian Ukrainian conflict in 2022, the US and Western countries continued to assist Ukraine with weapons, and at the same time asked Ukraine not to use these weapons to attack Russian territory, so as to avoid being involved in the conflict. However, since Ukraine's counter offensive failed last year, Zerensky began to lobby the United States and the West to change their minds. According to Euronews, Zelensky appealed to the West again on the 28th to lift the restrictions, saying that the restrictions were "unfair" to Ukraine.

Recently, the rhetoric of many countries in the US and Western camps has begun to loosen. On May 24, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg expressed his support for the first time. On the 28th, French President Marcon also agreed to lift the restrictions. European media quoted news on the 29th that German Prime Minister Schultz had also agreed to Zerensky's request. Prior to that, Ukraine has obtained permits from Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada.

Information Map of Russian President Putin's Signature

It is worth mentioning that several foreign media, such as Politico EU and Reuters, quoted US officials on the 30th, saying that US President Biden had made "amazing and significant changes" on this issue and had quietly allowed Ukraine to use weapons provided by the US to attack targets in Russia.

The New York Times, an American media, reported that Russia had gathered thousands of soldiers in the border area less than 30 kilometers from the northeastern city of Kharkov, so Ukraine urgently needed the authorization to use western weapons to attack Russia. Some US officials said that Biden's change of attitude was only to allow Ukraine to attack Russia's military base for the Kharkov offensive.

On May 30, Russian missiles hit a village in Kharkov

US Secretary of State Blinken confirmed on the 31st that the US has approved Ukraine to use US made weapons to attack targets in Russia, but only those Russian military targets that launched attacks on Kharkov. However, he did not specify whether Biden's authorization would be extended to other cities and targets in Russia that are more far-reaching.

On the 30th, Kremlin spokesman Peskov responded: "NATO countries are increasing tensions, inciting Ukraine to continue the war in various ways, and intend to continue to fight with us directly and indirectly... This may lead to serious consequences, which will eventually cause serious damage to national interests."

On the 31st local time, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban said that recently, every week he saw new signs that the EU and NATO were preparing for military action. He warned that Europe had entered the preparatory stage for war against Russia, "just a few steps away from firing".