Vladimir Putin visits the family of a medical worker in Tula on Friday. AFP

The Kremlin has thrown massive resources at its full-scale assault on Ukraine, with the defence sector accounting for much of the sanction-hit economy’s growth.

“In the last year and a half alone, 520,000 new jobs have been created in defence,” Putin told a political forum with defence workers in the western city of Tula.

“In order to be successful on the battlefield today, it is necessary to react quickly and adequately to what is happening there,” Putin said. “So whoever does it all faster, wins,” he said.

After months of combat that has failed to yield major territorial gains for either Russia or Ukraine, Moscow is throwing more manpower into the conflict and ramping up arms production.

Last year, it unveiled plans for a massive 68-pe rcent hike in spending on the military -- more than outlays for education, environmental protection and healthcare spending combined.

The spending increase has fuelled demand in Russia’s economy, drawing workers away from labour-starved civilian industries and pushing up inflation.

Unemployment has fallen to a record low and several non-defence sectors have reported a chronic shortage of workers since Russia launched its military campaign against Ukraine almost two years ago.

Putin described Moscow’s military action in Ukraine as a battle for Russia’s survival as he campaigned for reelection next month in balloting that he’s all but certain to win.

Speaking at a meeting with arms industries workers in the city of Tula south of Moscow, Putin declared that the vast majority of Russians support his course.

“If the public hadn’t felt that way, nothing would have happened,” he said. “We are doing what people expect us to do.”

He again argued that sending troops into Ukraine was necessary to protect Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine and stop what he described as attempts by Washington and its Nato allies to encroach on Moscow’s vital security interests. Ukraine and its Western allies have denounced it as an unprovoked act of aggression.

“If we hadn’t protected our people ... we would have turned into a weak country lacking self-sufficiency that no one cares for,” he said. “They would have patronizingly patted us on the shoulder and given us rotten potatoes as humanitarian assistance while thinking how to chip away pieces from us.”

Agencies