Trump asks Putin to spare "surrounded" Ukrainian troops amid ceasefire push
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Putin during a visit to Kursk on Tuesday. Photo: Kremlin Press Office handout via Getty
President Trump said on Friday he "strongly requested" that Russian President Vladimir Putin "spare the lives" of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, whom he claimed were "surrounded" in the Kursk region in Russia.
Why it matters: Ukraine launched a risky cross-border incursion into Kursk last August and occupied a significant swath of Russian territory, but Russia has been making rapid gains in recent weeks and putting those forces under severe pressure. Trump claimed the troops now faced a potential "massacre."
Driving the news: Putin raised the fate of the Ukrainian forces in Kursk as a key issue to be resolved before he would consider Trump's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
- In a Thursday press conference, Putin asked: "Should we release them after they committed serious crimes against civilians?" Russia has previously said soldiers captured in Kursk would be considered terrorists.
- Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, acknowledged the "difficult situation" on Tuesday but said Ukrainian forces were not surrounded and were moving to "more favorable" defensive positions. He said Ukraine would fight on in Kursk "as long as reasonable and necessary."
- Ukraine has not yet said whether it supports Trump's call for its troops to be given safe passage out of Kursk.
State of play: Trump made the comments on Truth Social a day after his envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin for discussions Trump called "very good and productive."
- The meeting lasted several hours and Witkoff didn't depart Moscow until 2am local time.
- The Kremlin said Putin gave Witkoff a message for Trump, and that a phone call between the leaders could take place in the coming days.
- Before the meeting, though, Putin downplayed Trump's proposal for an unconditional surrender, making clear that with his forces on the march in Kursk and in southeastern Ukraine, several demands would have to be met before he would order them to stand down.
The other side: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday on X that Ukraine accepted Trump's ceasefire proposal because it wants peace, but "Russia is deliberately setting conditions that only complicate and drag out the process."
What they're saying: "We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end," Trump wrote on Friday morning about Witkoff's meeting.
- Trump added: "BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION."
- "I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all!!!"
