President Putin visits rehabilitation center for war veterans

President Vladimir Putin has paid a visit to a rehabilitation center for war veterans outside Saransk, Mordovia, to talk to the staff and to veterans of World War II, the Afghan war, and the counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya.

Putin visited the center while still a prime minister -- back then, the government had made a decision to step up financing to step up funding of the center so as to expand its territory, add more beds and purchase up-to-date medical equipment.

This time, the staff and inhabitants of the center thanked Putin for the aforementioned decision. Today, the center's staff say its equipment is one of the best throughout the whole republic. The center has been staffed up and keeps getting regular medical supplies. It has also set up its own operating room.