- Summary- Putin meets soldiers' mothers, some bereaved- Putin: 'I personally, and the whole leadership, share your pain'- Russia has not fully revealed its battlefield losses- Some mothers say Kremlin ignores more critical relatives' groupsLONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin spoke on Friday to a carefully selected group of mothers of Russian soldiers sent to fight in Ukraine who praised his leadership while he told them their sons had not died in vain.Tens of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the conflict sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to the United States.Hundreds of thousands more have fled Russia to escape the draft, and dissatisfaction with soldiers' lack of equipment or training or the chaotic nature of the mobilisation can be found across social media.The mothers, from all over Russia and from different ethnic groups, in turn expressed thanks for his leadership and wished him well, before telling of sons who had fought or died with valour in the service of a noble cause.Nina Pshenichkina, a woman from Ukraine's Donetsk province whose son died, said his loss had inspired her to work even harder to make the region - now unilaterally annexed by Moscow - part of Russia."