Putin decries media ‘lies’ at meeting with soldiers’ mothers

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday hit out at what he said were skewed media portrayals of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine as he met with mothers of Russian soldiers fighting there. Putin denounced what he called “many fakes, cheating, lies” on television and on the Internet. The meeting in the Kremlin with more than a dozen women came as uncertainty persists over whether enlistment efforts may resume in the face of recent battlefield setbacks.  Putin said that he sometimes speaks with troops directly by telephone, according to a Kremlin transcript and photos of the meeting.