Moscow - (AFP) - The Kremlin announced on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had held talks with those responsible for the Russian military operation in Ukraine, which is targeting intensive Russian bombing of its territory.

The Kremlin said in a statement that "the president spent a full day on Friday at the headquarters of the forces participating in the special military operation" in Ukraine.

The head of the Russian state especially held a "meeting" there with the participation of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov. He also held "separate meetings with the leaders" of the various branches of the Russian army involved in the operation, according to the same source.

"I would like to hear your proposals regarding our moves in the short and medium term," Putin said during the meeting, clips of which were broadcast on Russian television on Saturday.

The announcement comes as Ukraine was targeted Friday by new Russian missile strikes that caused power outages across the country, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Faced with a series of military setbacks this fall, Russia, which launched an offensive against Ukraine at the end of February, has since October chosen the tactic of massive strikes targeting Ukraine's power grids and transformers.