INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Thursday.The blunt comments from Igor Kobzev, the head of the Irkutsk region in southeast Siberia, come as the Russian military officially
acknowledges fewer than 6,000 casualties despite suffering major setbacks in its nine-month invasion.Quoting his own mother's words to him
Ukraine.Independent media outlets tracking Russia's military deaths say 122 servicemen from the Irkutsk region have died in Ukraine since
officials estimate that 100,000 Russian troops have died, gone missing or been seriously injured in the war.President Vladimir Putin is
expected to meet the mothers of soldiers fighting in Ukraine later Friday.The run-up to the anticipated meeting has been plagued by
