President Vladimir Putin's statement on the "self-cleansing" of Russia referred to people fleeing the country amid a special operation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, TASS reported.

"Many people show themselves to be, Russian speaking, traitors. They themselves disappear from our life, some leave their positions, some leave active service life, some leave the country," Peskov said.

At the same time, many citizens want to support the Russian president not just emotionally, but effectively. According to the Kremlin spokesman, there are a majority of such people.

On Wednesday at a meeting on measures of socio-economic support of the regions, Putin said that Russia is currently undergoing a process of self-purification of society. According to the head of state, such a process will only strengthen Russia and allow its citizens to withstand any external challenges.