Russian president Putin says army must tackle problems it has in Ukraine, to test performance of weapons in combat conditions

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the Russian army had to learn from and fix the problems it had  in Ukraine, promising to give the military whatever it needed to prosecute a war nearing the end of its 10th month.

In a speech to defense chiefs in Moscow, Putin said there were no financial limits on what the government would provide in terms of equipment and hardware.

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•   The performance of weapons needs to be tested in real combat conditions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

"I expect our designers and engineers to continue the practice of visiting the frontline. I would like to thank them for doing that. They regularly go there, adjusting the performance of equipment. I hope that this practice will continue so that the performance of weapons and equipment can be tested and improved," the head of state pointed out, addressing an expanded board meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry.

Putin emphasized the need to work substantively with the relevant ministries and government agencies. "We can see what works perfectly well and what needs to be improved," the president noted.

The head of state also stressed that the Military-Industrial Commission "should be a center ensuring cooperation between the defense ministry, research facilities and the armed forces in achieving the most pressing and long-term goals, including in terms of logistics support for the army."

The president drew the attention of the government and the leadership of the Defense Ministry and other agencies to the need to work in close contact with each other within a specially created coordination council, as well as to maintain ties with regional authorities and the defense industry.