Meeting with widows of fallen heroes from Special Operations Forces

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.

I specifically wanted to meet with you on February 23, Defender of the Fatherland Day, because, as the families of our soldiers and officers, you will always have a special connection to this date.

Sadly, your own defenders are no longer with you. But the Motherland, the country they gave their lives to defend, will always stand by you.

I wanted to use this opportunity to hear how you are doing, what is working well and what more can and should be done to support you. Our priority is to help you get back on your feet, and to make sure your children, our children, can do the same.

As you know, I have consistently stressed the importance of this and made it clear to representatives at every level of government - municipal, regional, federal, and departmental - that this must remain a focus. I will continue to do so.

That is what I wanted to say to open our meeting. Now, I would really like to hear from each of you. Afterwards, we will discuss what has been said and make comments and draw some conclusions. I am confident this conversation will also help guide my ongoing work in this vital area of social support.

Let's begin.

<…>