“We share your pain,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told a group of mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
“Nothing can replace the loss of a son,” he said in his opening remarks broadcast on Russian state media.
Many mothers are members of pro-Kremlin movements. Critics say he was carefully selected for the meeting.
Opposition to its invasion of Ukraine is growing within Russia.
Across the country, groups of mothers of serving soldiers are openly complaining that their sons are being sent into battle poorly trained and without proper weapons and clothing, especially as cold weather sets in. .
Some have even accused the Russian military of turning conscripts into “cannon fodder” after heavy military defeats in recent months.
About 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the war began on February 24, according to Mark Milley, the most senior US general.
In a rare admission, the Kremlin said in September that mistakes had been made in its drive to mobilize the army reserves.
Friday’s meeting at his official residence near Moscow showed Mr Putin sitting at a large table with a group of 17 mothers. Some of them wore dark headscarves – a sign of mourning.
“I want you to know that I, personally, and all the leadership of the country, we share this pain,” the president said.
He told one mother that her son had “achieved his purpose” and “didn’t die in vain.”
