Putin: We will give Everything to the Army without Financial Restrictions, the Military are Heroes

Moscow [Russia], December 22: "We don't have any funding restrictions. The country and the government give everything that the army asks for," Vladimir Putin said today in a speech to the collegium of the Russian Defense Ministry. But at the same time, he said that there will be no transition of the economy to military tracks.
At the same event, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced a proposal to increase both the enlistment age and the size of the armed forces, which Putin immediately accepted.
According to him, it was "well known that today the military potential and capabilities of practically all major NATO countries are being actively used against Russia." Putin hailed Russian soldiers and their commanders as "heroes" for the way they fought. "You are fighting - I am not afraid of such comparisons, these are not lofty words - exactly like the heroes of 1812, of the First World War or the Great Patriotic War", he added at a time when the actions of the army in Ukraine are often described around the world such as war crimes, lawlessness, looting.
Putin also noted that military personnel should have everything at the highest level. "It is necessary to equip the troops with night vision devices, high-quality sights, sniper rifles of a new generation," he said. "Everything a fighter needs should be modern, comfortable and reliable. The supply should be based on real needs. If some departmental regulations are outdated, they should be changed quickly," Putin added as the war is nearing the end of its tenth month.
Once again, after the beginning of the Russian aggression with thousands killed and huge destruction, he listed his famous theses that, as before, he continued to consider the Ukrainian people as brothers. What is happening in Ukraine is "our common tragedy, but, of course, it is the result of the policy of other countries, of third countries, which have always strived for this - the disintegration of the Russian world."
"All the information about the NATO forces, the means that are actively used in the course of the special military operation and the opposition to us is well known. All this you have and all this must be carefully analyzed and used in the development of our armed forces," said the head of state, according to whom, in the war in Ukraine, the Russian units had gained "enormous combat experience".
The collegium of the Ministry of Defense includes the Minister with his deputies, the Chief of the General Staff, the commanders of the individual military branches. Its annual meeting is attended by dozens of commanders, the leadership of the military academy and excellent cadets from military schools. Outside the defense system, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council to the President, ministers, the leaders of both houses of the parliament and the Moscow Patriarch were invited.
In his speech, Putin also said that the military department should be careful with criticisms directed at him, "toward all civilian initiatives, including taking into account criticisms and responding to them correctly and in a timely manner."
People's reaction can be emotional, he added. "We must listen to those who do not remain silent about the existing problems, but strive to contribute to their resolution," Putin also said, pointing out that the system of military districts for carrying out mobilization and recruitment for the army had to be modernized.
Source: Novinite