It was quite a contrast.
On Thursday, a US Pentagon delegation was in Kyiv. They were talking to President Zelensky about a draft plan to end the war in Ukraine.
The same day, on Russian state TV, President Putin was in military fatigues. He was talking to his army chiefs about fighting on.
"We have our tasks, our goals," the Kremlin leader declared. "The chief one is the unconditional achievement of the aims of the special military operation."
The Izvestia newspaper called President Putin's visit to a command post "a signal to America that he's prepared to negotiate on Ukraine, on Russia's terms."
