President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that Russian society had unified in its support of what the Kremlin calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
"Maybe this is the most important thing — the general consolidation of all forces within society," the Russian leader said at a meeting with Defense Ministry officials.
He went on to thank "everyone who helps our fighters at the front, transfers money, sends cars and drones and body armor" and praised the "patriotic spirit of solidarity."
Since invading Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has cast the war as an existential fight against the West.
Putin again on Tuesday accused Western countries of using Ukraine as a proxy to wage a war against Russia and questioned the legitimacy of Ukraine as an independent state.
He also said Russian military technology had demonstrated its "superiority" over Western weapons, pointing to Kyiv's failure to liberate large swathes of its territory during a counteroffensive launched in the summer.
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