Putin sounds out military commanders on Ukraine

MOSCOW: 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.

In video footage released by the Kremlin, Putin presided at a meeting of around a dozen people at a circular table, flanked by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and military Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Putin was then shown at the head of another conference table at the joint task force headquarters, inviting suggestions from a number 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. Air Force General Sergei Surovikin, the overall commander of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, 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.