Vladimir Putin breathes heavily during an awkward encounter with soldiers’ mothers

Vladimir Putin met a carefully selected group of mothers whose sons had been sent to fight and die in Ukraine.

The Russian president appeared clumsy and physically uncomfortable in footage released of the meeting, breathing heavily and pausing to clear his throat.

Groups critical of the government’s handling of the invasion and the treatment within the armed forces in general said they had been excluded from the televised session.

Sitting at a table with tea, cakes and bowls of fresh berries, Putin said: “I want you to know that I personally and the entire leadership of the country share your pain.

He continued: “We understand that nothing can replace the loss of a son, especially for a mother. We share this pain.”

Putin has previously said publicly that he does not regret launching what he calls a special military operation in February.

A short television clip show allowed the assembled women to listen, but their own commentary was not broadcast.

Exact numbers are difficult to ascertain, but tens of thousands of militants ordered by the Kremlin to join the invasion were killed and many more wounded.

These include some of the 300,000 reservists called up during a partial mobilization where men were forced to fight and sometimes forcibly taken to barracks by police.

Putin severely restricted freedom of speech to control public opinion on the war, but the mobilization threatened to change sentiment in the country.

Russian military moms have a long and successful history as a thorn in the government’s side when conducting overseas operations.

The Union of Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers of Russia was founded as a human rights organization in the late 1980s and became an influential voice during Chechnya’s first war.

Its founder, Valentina Melnikova, told The Guardian this week that the public would be selected from supportive families and said her organization had been excluded.

She added: “Of course they didn’t invite us and of course we don’t want to go.”

Olga Tsukanova, the founder of another organization representing soldiers’ families, called the president out this week, The Times reports.

The President of the Council of Women and Mothers said: “[Putin] are you a man or something?

“Do you have the courage to meet us and look us in the eye, not with your chosen wives and mothers, but with real [women]who have traveled from different cities at their own expense to meet you?

‘We are here; We are ready to meet you. We are waiting for your reply! Or are you going to hide again?’

The meeting should take place on the eve of Mother’s Day, which is celebrated in Russia in November.

There are widespread reports of Russian soldiers being sent into battle without proper equipment or training.

The UK Ministry of Defense today released a report saying men with “serious” health problems are being called up out of desperation.

It said “reservists’ medical conditions are most likely not adequately assessed and many are forced to serve with serious, chronic health conditions.”

The MOD claimed it had evidence of reservists being sent to areas exposed to heavy shelling to dig trenches and suffer heavy casualties.

In Donetsk Oblast, reservists were killed in large numbers in frontal attacks on established Ukrainian defense zones around the city of Bakhmut.

“The Kremlin will probably be concerned that more reservist families are willing to risk arrest for protesting the conditions under which their loved ones are being served.”

Ukraine does not publicly disclose how many soldiers it has lost, and Russia’s official figures are widely believed to be hoarded to hide the truth from the public.

Earlier this month, the US military estimated that both armies had suffered more than 100,000 casualties and wounded.

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