'Dumunbunchul' Putin summons military commanders... "Submit opinions on Ukraine operation"

'Doubt Grows Over Ukraine War Amid Continuous Retreats'

Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Yeju] Since invading Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has instead been put on the defensive, is reported to have gathered military commanders to ask about the future direction of war operations.

According to major foreign media including Reuters on the 17th (local time), President Putin, who had not appeared in public and sparked various speculations, convened a meeting the day before with about 10 military commanders including Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

At the meeting, President Putin said, "We will listen to the commanders' opinions regarding the operational direction," adding, "I want to hear proposals on operations that are immediately necessary and those for the mid-term."

It was confirmed that Sergey Surovikin, newly appointed in October as the overall commander of the Ukraine war, also attended this meeting.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated, "President Putin spent the entire day on the 16th at the command headquarters with the military commanders."

Russia had taken control of the capital Kyiv and the second-largest city Kharkiv, but decided to retreat to these two locations following repeated Ukrainian offensives. Last month, Russian troops also withdrew from Kherson, considered a key strategic point in the south. The agency reported that criticism is emerging even among Putin's support base over the successive battlefield defeats.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.