MOSCOW. Feb 16 (Interfax) - Volunteers, contract servicemen and mobilized citizens participating in the special military operation must have the same social guarantees and benefits, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova told Putin that social guarantees in effect for some participants in the special military operation were not applicable to others.
"I would like to speak to you about what seems to me like a little injustice. In particular, there are children whose fathers serve with the Defense Ministry, while fathers of others serve with private military companies. All they are heroes, yet some enjoy social guarantees and the others do not," Lvova-Belova said.
"We are already discussing the issue, so you are getting right to the point. You should formulate all of your proposals, and we will keep them in mind when we make our decisions. That's for sure," Putin said.
"Everyone, including volunteers, those who have signed contracts and are serving on their basis, and those who joined the military as a result of mobilization, everyone is fulfilling their sacred duty to the fatherland, and everyone is equal before the fatherland in that sense. So, all social guarantees and benefits should apply equally to them," he said.