MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree creating a special fund to support soldiers fighting in Ukraine and their families.
Russia rarely gives any estimates of its losses in its military operation launched in February 2022, where its military faced series of setbacks.
The decree in support of the “Defenders of the Fatherland” was published on the official government website.
The measures are “aimed at ensuring a decent life” for soldiers involved in the Ukraine offensive, and for their partners and children, according to the decree.
Putin had announced the support measure at the Federal Assembly on February 21, almost a year after he sent his troops to Ukraine.
“Our duty is to support the families that have lost their loved ones and to help them raise their children and give them an education and a job,” Putin then said.
The fund should “bring targeted, personalized assistance to the families of fallen fighters, as well as veterans of the special military operation,” he said in February.
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Putin creates fund for soldiers fighting in Ukraine
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Putin creates fund for soldiers fighting in Ukraine
- The decree comes in support of the “Defenders of the Fatherland”
North Korea unveils image of leader’s daughter firing rifle
SEOUL: North Korea released a rare image on Saturday of leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor.
Kim’s daughter Ju Ae has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including this week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress.
Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju Ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope with her finger on the trigger, smoke rising from the barrel.
She was wearing what appeared to be a leather jacket, a garment often worn by both her and her father at major political events, symbolising authority and legitimacy.
KCNA reported on Saturday that Kim presented new sniper rifles to senior party and military officials, describing the move as a gesture of appreciation and “absolute trust,” without mentioning Ju Ae.
He then visited a shooting range with the officials, where he fired the rifle and took a group photo, it added.
South Korea’s spy agency said this month that Pyongyang appears to have started the process of designating Ju Ae as leader Kim’s successor.
By underscoring Ju Ae’s ability to handle and fire a weapon, the photos “suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,” Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
KCNA also said Saturday that Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong will head the party’s general affairs department — a role analysts describe as akin to a party secretary-general.
The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their “Paektu bloodline” dominates daily life in the isolated country.
Kim’s daughter Ju Ae has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including this week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress.
Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju Ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope with her finger on the trigger, smoke rising from the barrel.
She was wearing what appeared to be a leather jacket, a garment often worn by both her and her father at major political events, symbolising authority and legitimacy.
KCNA reported on Saturday that Kim presented new sniper rifles to senior party and military officials, describing the move as a gesture of appreciation and “absolute trust,” without mentioning Ju Ae.
He then visited a shooting range with the officials, where he fired the rifle and took a group photo, it added.
South Korea’s spy agency said this month that Pyongyang appears to have started the process of designating Ju Ae as leader Kim’s successor.
By underscoring Ju Ae’s ability to handle and fire a weapon, the photos “suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,” Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
KCNA also said Saturday that Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong will head the party’s general affairs department — a role analysts describe as akin to a party secretary-general.
The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their “Paektu bloodline” dominates daily life in the isolated country.
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