Defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke says that Putin is "playing a big game" in Africa, where Russia is involved in multiple civil conflicts in different countries.
The important deal allowing grain exports from Ukraine is also coming up for discussion, but with Putin unlikely to seek a repeat of the food price spikes that occurred last year, when supplies were threatened.
In his analysis on day 478 of the war, Prof Clarke says that Russia has "not done badly" defending, but that both sides are yet to commit their main resources.