Putin Sounds Out Military Commanders on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) during his visit to the joint headquarters of the military branches of the Russian armed forces involved in the "special military operation" in Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in Russia, 17 December 2022. (EPA/Sputnik/Kremlin)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) during his visit to the joint headquarters of the military branches of the Russian armed forces involved in the "special military operation" in Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in Russia, 17 December 2022. (EPA/Sputnik/Kremlin)
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Putin Sounds Out Military Commanders on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) during his visit to the joint headquarters of the military branches of the Russian armed forces involved in the "special military operation" in Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in Russia, 17 December 2022. (EPA/Sputnik/Kremlin)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) during his visit to the joint headquarters of the military branches of the Russian armed forces involved in the "special military operation" in Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in Russia, 17 December 2022. (EPA/Sputnik/Kremlin)

President Vladimir Putin has sought proposals from his armed forces commanders on how they think Russia's military campaign in Ukraine should proceed, during a visit to the operation's headquarters, the Kremlin said on Saturday. 

A series of defeats in 10 months of fighting, resulting in Russian withdrawals from areas around the capital Kyiv and Ukraine's second city Kharkiv and most recently from the city of Kherson, have forced Putin to call up reservists and generated rare public criticism from military bloggers and some allies. 

Since the appointment in October of Air Force General Sergei Surovikin to lead the campaign, Russian ground forces have focused more on defense than attack, while waves of air strikes on cities have left millions of Ukrainian civilians without heat, light or water for days on end as winter sets in. 

In video footage released by the Kremlin on Saturday, Putin presided at a meeting of around a dozen people at a circular table, flanked by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov - both of whom have been heavily criticized by hawkish commentators. 

Putin was then shown at the head of another conference table at the joint task force headquarters, inviting suggestions from a row of military commanders. 

"We will listen to the commanders in each operational direction, and I would like to hear your proposals on our immediate and medium-term actions," Putin said. 

Surovikin was also shown attending the meetings in still photographs on the Kremlin website. 

Putin spent the whole of Friday at the task force headquarters, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax news agency. 

No other details of Putin's visit or the location of the headquarters were reported. 



Trump and Putin Will Speak This Week on Russia-Ukraine War, US Envoy Says

 Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Trump and Putin Will Speak This Week on Russia-Ukraine War, US Envoy Says

 Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week as the US tries to broker a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff.

It would be the second publicized call between the two leaders since Trump began his second term in January. Trump and Putin spoke in February and agreed to start high-level talks over ending the war in Ukraine.

“I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week,” Witkoff said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Witkoff this week met with Putin in Russia for talks aimed at ending the country’s invasion of Ukraine and said he expects to see a deal soon.

“The president uses the timeframe weeks and I don’t disagree with him. I am really hopeful that we are going to see some real progress here,” Witkoff said.

When Witkoff appeared later Sunday on CBS' “Face the Nation,” he again spoke about a prospective Putin-Trump call but did not offer specifics on what decisions might be made coming out of the discussion.

Witkoff said they forged a relationship in Trump’s first term and that he expects the call this week to be “very positive and constructive.”

Trump's first call to Putin came after Witkoff traveled to Russia to bring home Marc Fogel, an American history teacher the US had deemed wrongfully detained.

One day after the prisoner swap, Trump announced that he spoke to Putin and said their call was “lengthy and highly productive.”

Witkoff demurred on whether Putin and Trump will decide in the call to move forward with a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire. Ukraine has agreed to the deal. Putin has said he agrees in principle with the proposal but there are details to be worked out.

“President Trump is the ultimate decision maker, our decision maker, and President Putin, for the country of Russia, is their decision maker,” Witkoff said. “I think it’s a very positive sign that the two of them will be talking at some point. I think that’s showing that there’s positive momentum.”

Witkoff also brushed aside a recent assessment from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said in a statement that Russia “does not seem to be sincerely seeking peace” and that Putin was intensifying the fighting before negotiating.

Witkoff said he was not aware of Macron's comments but said, “it’s unfortunate when people make those sort of assessments” when “they don’t have necessarily firsthand knowledge.”

“I know what I heard, the body language I witnessed,” Witkoff said of his meeting with Putin. “I saw a constructive effort, over a long period of time to discuss the specifics of what’s going on in the field.”