WASHINGTON/MOSCOW - US President Donald Trump urged Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Friday (March 14) to spare Ukrainian troops that Russia is pushing out of its Kursk region, an appeal Mr Putin said he would honour if they surrendered.
Mr Trump posted on social media after his envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff, held a lengthy meeting with Mr Putin on March 13 night in Moscow that Mr Trump described as "very good and productive".
"There is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end," Mr Trump said, referring to a US ceasefire proposal that Ukraine accepted this week and was under consideration by Russia.
The US president said Russia's military had "completely surrounded" thousands of Ukrainian troops in Kursk who were "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!!!"
Military analysts have said Ukrainian forces in Kursk are nearly cut off after rapidly losing ground in what had been their only foothold in Russian territory.
Mr Putin has accused Ukrainian troops of carrying out crimes against civilians in Kursk, something Kyiv denies. But the Russian president said he understood the call by Mr Trump to take humanitarian considerations into account.
"In this regard, I would like to emphasise that 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," Mr Putin said.
The deputy chairman of Russia's security council, former President Dmitry Medvedev, posted on social media that if Ukrainian troops "refuse to lay down their arms, they will all be methodically and mercilessly destroyed".
Kyiv's military, however, said there was no threat of encirclement, and its troops were pulling back to better positions.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at a G-7 meeting in La Malbaie, Canada, said Mr Witkoff was returning to the United States from Moscow and there may be discussions about Ukraine over the weekend.
"But we certainly feel like we're at least some steps closer to ending this war and bringing peace. But it's still a long journey," he told reporters.
Kursk became a key theatre of the war in August when Ukraine, two and a half years after Mr Putin's full-scale invasion, turned the tables by grabbing a piece of Russia's own territory, a potential bargaining chip in future negotiations.
Seven months on, Kursk is once again in the spotlight, as Russian forces attempt to expel the Ukrainians completely and the US urges Russia to agree to a ceasefire in the wider war.
Moscow said on March 14 its forces had recaptured another Kursk village. But Ukraine's general staff said the battlefield situation was largely unchanged.
"Reports of the alleged 'encirclement' of Ukrainian units by the enemy in Kursk are false and fabricated by the Russians for political manipulation," it said, adding that units had "withdrawn to more advantageous defensive positions."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that the Kursk offensive had succeeded in diverting Russian forces from elsewhere on the battlefront.
Mr Zelensky added that he saw "a good chance" to end the war, having "solid security understandings" with European partners.
He said he was discussing with Kyiv's allies future security guarantees and also economic support, adding that 100 per cent air defence cover would be required as deterrence in a peace deal.
The Kremlin said Mr Putin sent Mr Trump a message about his ceasefire plan via Mr Witkoff, expressing "cautious optimism" that a deal could be reached to end the three-year-old conflict.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, who met Mr Trump on March 13, told Fox News that Mr Trump's drive to get Russia to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers was "extremely helpful and extremely important".
But he said Nato needed long-term collective deterrence so that Russia would never again seek to capture territory anywhere in the world.
The Trump administration launched its latest round of outreach to Moscow this week after Ukraine agreed in principle to a ceasefire at talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia.
On March 14, Mr Trump again pressed Russia to sign and complete "a Cease Fire and Final Agreement".
Mr Putin said on March 13 he supported Mr Trump's proposal in principle, but fighting could not be paused until several crucial conditions were worked out, raising the prospect of longer negotiations.
Despite Mr Putin's apparent conditions, Mr Trump called Mr Putin's statement "very promising".
Mr Putin has said he wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join Nato and limit the size of its army. Russia also wants Ukraine to cede control of four regions Moscow claims, a demand rejected by Kyiv.
He has also made clear he wants Western sanctions eased and a presidential election to be held in Ukraine, which Kyiv says is premature while martial law remains in force.
Source: Reuters
