Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Friday for Kyiv’s forces besieged in the Kursk region in western Russia to “surrender,” after his US counterpart, Donald Trump, called on him to “preserve the lives” of Ukrainian soldiers.
“We sympathize with President Trump’s call,” Putin said in his remarks.
The day after holding talks on a truce in Ukraine with the US envoy, Putin said on television: “If they lay down their weapons and surrender, they will be guaranteed life and decent treatment.”
Trump had said that “thousands” of Ukrainian soldiers were “completely surrounded by the Russian army. They are in a fragile and extremely difficult situation.” He emphasized: “I urgently asked Vladimir Putin to spare their lives, otherwise there will be a horrific massacre unprecedented since World War II.”
The Ukrainian military leadership denied Trump’s announcement, but President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that his forces were facing increasing pressure.
“Currently, there is no threat of our units being surrounded in the Kursk region,” the General Staff said in a statement on social media. However, Zelenskyy confirmed to reporters on Friday that the situation of his soldiers in Kursk is “extremely difficult.”
He noted, however, that the Ukrainian offensive there forced Russia to withdraw its forces from other areas on the front, relieving pressure on his forces fighting to retain control of the city of Pokrovsk, a logistics hub.
