Vladimir Putin has hit back at claims the Kremlin has left Russia’s armed forces fighting without key equipment, saying the war in Ukraine could be financed without “limits” and ordering the military to be open to criticism as his full-scale invasion of the country nears the 10-month mark.
“The military operation has highlighted issues that we need to work on specifically,” including “communications” and “automatisation”, the Russian president said on Wednesday.
Speaking to Russia’s defence ministry, which has faced unprecedented, Kremlin-sanctioned criticism for struggling to supply the front lines and retreating from the southeastern regions of Ukraine that Moscow had annexed only weeks earlier, Putin said Russia had “no limits” on financing the war effort.