Vladimir Putin has sacked the chief of the Russian military’s land forces, Gen. Oleg Salyukov, according to a decree published by the Kremlin, in the latest removal of a high-profile figure from Russia’s military during its war on Ukraine. Salyukov, 70, will become a deputy to the also-sacked defence minister Sergei Shoigu, who was removed in 2024 and made secretary of the security council.
The development came as the Russian president snubbed peace talks that he suggested in Turkey with Ukraine. Putin instead sent a lower-level delegation to Istanbul, and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy – who had promised to attend if Putin did – reciprocated with a Ukrainian negotiating contingent. Putin had insisted on the Istanbul meeting instead of agreeing to the longstanding offer by Ukraine and its allies of a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said Putin and Russia would face new sanctions as a consequence. “The fact that President Zelenskyy travelled to Istanbul despite this is an enormous gesture,” Merz posted. “Putin didn’t show up – and that put him in the wrong. A new sanctions package is ready. We will adopt it in Brussels on Tuesday.”