TULA, February 2. /TASS/. In the last year and a half, the entire life and work of Russian authorities and arms makers was dedicated to supporting fighters involved in the special military operation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the meeting with the "Everything for victory!" forum participants.

"This forum gathered a lot of people that have been involved in the special military operation in some way, whose entire work, entire life in the past year and a half were dedicated to supporting our guys at the frontline. Of course, we think about them, first and foremost, about the people who do not spare their lives, do not spare their health to ensure Russia’s interests," the head of state said. He noted that there is a reason why this meeting takes place in Tula, one of the key locations of the Russian arms industry.

According to the president, the support for the fighters at the frontline requires joint efforts of the entire society.

"Military-industrial complex enterprises make the main contribution to this work, of course. This is a large portion of our industry, a huge army of people working in this area," he noted.

Putin also specified that there are currently 6,000 enterprises employing 3.5 million people in the military-industrial complex.

"But, if we take into account that, in addition to this purely defense enterprises, there are additional 10,000 enterprises, affiliated with the defense industry in some way, that act as related businesses or contractors, one can imagine how huge this army of people is," Putin added.