Vladimir Putin answered Donald Trump’s plea for Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk with a condition: they would be spared if they surrender.
Trump had written on social media that he “strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared,” warning of “a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II.” He said thousands of Ukrainians were “completely surrounded” and vulnerable. The Kyiv Independent noted that he gave no evidence.
Speaking to his Security Council on Friday, Putin said he had read the appeal and understood Trump’s call to weigh humanitarian considerations. “If [the Ukrainian troops] lay down their arms and surrender, they will be guaranteed life and decent treatment in accordance with international law and the laws of the Russian Federation,” he said. To carry out the American request, he added, “a corresponding order from the military-political leadership of Ukraine is needed.”
Kyiv rejects the encirclement claim
Ukraine denied that its forces in Kursk are encircled and called the claim a Russian fabrication. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy nonetheless described the position of those forces as “very difficult.” Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi had acknowledged a “difficult situation” on March 12, saying Ukraine would hold its defenses “as long as reasonable and necessary.”
On the ground, a Russian counteroffensive has taken back much of the land Ukraine captured last summer, costing Kyiv a vital bargaining chip in any truce talks. Moscow said on March 12 that it had retaken over 86% of the seized territory, including the town of Sudzha. Russian troops have also crossed into Ukraine’s Sumy region, which faces Kursk.
Putin put the alternative bluntly. With a complete physical blockade, he said, Ukrainian soldiers “will have only two options: surrender or die.”
The ceasefire track
The exchange came a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow late on Thursday to discuss an American proposal for a 30-day interim ceasefire. Kyiv has said it is ready to accept it. Putin said he supports the idea but listed conditions, including a halt to Ukrainian mobilization, military training and foreign aid deliveries. He also wants Ukraine to drop its NATO ambitions, Russia to control the whole of the four regions it claims, and a cap on the Ukrainian army.
Trump called the talks “very good and productive” and said there was a “very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there were “reasons to be cautiously optimistic” and that the timing of a presidential phone call would be set once Witkoff had briefed Trump.
Zelenskyy said Kyiv had “a good chance to end this war quickly and secure peace,” and urged the US and other allies to pressure Moscow. He doubted Putin would hurry. Tony Brenton, a former British ambassador to Russia, told Al Jazeera that Russians “are winning that battle in Kursk and they might want to finish that off before the ceasefire takes effect.”
Sources
- Putin says Russia will spare Ukrainian forces in Kursk if they surrender
- Trump claims he asked Putin to 'spare thousands of surrounded Ukrainian troops' in Kursk Oblast
