The wife of a Russian soldier delivered an emotional appeal
for his return from Ukraine on Saturday at the election
headquarters of President Vladimir Putin, a defiant gesture in
a country where open criticism of the war is banned
. So what's next? The Ministry of Defense has
spent its money. So now we need to squeeze
everything out of guys. Get the last life out
of them. So what they come back to us
just as stumps will they give me the stump?
What will I get back? A man without legs
, without arms? A sick man, don't you
know what's happening there? The heated exchange came after
Maria Andree was told by a woman at Putin's that
Russian soldiers in Ukraine were defending the motherland and that
she should pray for them. It showed the depth
of anger and despair among some soldiers families as the
war grinds on with no end in sight. After
nearly two years, I think we need to come
en masse write similar appeals instructions in order to force
them by weight of numbers. Previously, we went
to lawmakers, we wrote letters, I think now
is exactly the moment that we need to act if
not. Now, then when and belongs to an
organization of soldiers, wives called The Way Home that
is campaigning for the return of their husbands from Ukraine
. Last month, Putin chose a gathering with soldiers
to announce his plan to run for a new six
year term in the March election. Supporters and opponents
alike see his victory as a foregone conclusion. He
has said that Russia was in a strong position across
the entire front line in Ukraine and would press ahead
to meet the goals of what he calls a special
military operation.