Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged Ukraine’s military to surrender after US President Donald Trump called for Russian forces to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. The claim that thousands of Ukrainian troops are surrounded in Kursk, a region disputed by both sides, is denied by Ukraine and contradicted by experts.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers were “completely surrounded” by Russian forces in Kursk. He also urged Putin to spare their lives, saying it would be a “horrible massacre.” However, Putin responded by stating that the soldiers need to surrender to be spared.
Ukraine has denied the claims, calling them “false and fabricated” for political purposes. The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces stated that there is no threat of encirclement and troops are regrouping in more advantageous defense lines.
Experts have also disputed the claim, with defense analyst Michael Kofman saying it is “simply untrue.” George Barros, the Russian team lead for the Institute for the Study of War, described available evidence from the battlefield as indicating no significant Russian encirclements of Ukrainian forces at scale.
The situation in Kursk remains tense, but a 30-day ceasefire has been proposed by the US and Russia. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the proposal, which could potentially facilitate a larger peace deal to end Russia’s three-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/vladimir-putin-ukraine-surrender-after-donald-trump-calls/story?id=119801808