When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered up to 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine, his aim was to sweep into the capital, Kyiv, in a matter of days. He wanted to overthrow the pro-Western government and return Ukraine to Russia's sphere of influence.

U.S. assessments of Vladimir Putin say that Moscow is determined to hold sway over Kyiv, despite ongoing ceasefire talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agreed with the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine, but that "questions" remained about the nature of a truce as he set out a number of tough conditions. The Russian president was responding to a plan for a 30-day ceasefire,

The idea of a ceasefire “is correct and we will certainly support it,” Putin said, “but there are issues that need to be discussed.”