Russia will spare the lives of Ukrainian troopers in its western Kursk area if Kyiv orders them to give up, President Vladimir Putin has mentioned after US President Donald Trump urged him to keep away from a “horrible bloodbath” there.
Ukraine denied its forces in Kursk had been encircled, describing the declare as a Russian fabrication, however President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday described the scenario for Ukrainian forces there as “very tough”.
Trump wrote on social media that he had requested the Russian president to spare the lives of hundreds of Ukrainians who he mentioned had been “utterly surrounded” and weak.
“I’ve strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This may be a horrible bloodbath, one not seen since World Warfare II,” he mentioned.
Putin, addressing his Safety Council, mentioned he had learn Trump’s attraction and understood the decision by Trump to take humanitarian issues under consideration.
“On this regard, I want to emphasise that if [the Ukrainian troops] lay down their arms and give up, they are going to be assured life and first rate remedy in accordance with worldwide regulation and the legal guidelines of the Russian Federation,” Putin mentioned.
“To successfully implement the attraction of the US president, a corresponding order from the military-political management of Ukraine is required for its navy items to put down their arms and give up.”
Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk have come beneath rising stress in latest days, with a Russian counteroffensive wresting a lot of the land Ukraine captured there final summer time, denying Kyiv an important level of leverage over Moscow in any potential truce talks.
Russian troops have additionally crossed the frontier into Ukrainian territory within the Sumy area going through Kursk.
Ceasefire talks
Trump’s feedback come after his Center East envoy Steve Witkoff spoke to Putin in Moscow on Thursday a couple of US proposal for a 30-day interim ceasefire.
Kyiv has mentioned it was prepared to simply accept the proposal, whereas Putin on Thursday mentioned he supported the concept of a ceasefire however offered a sequence of circumstances that may must be met earlier than Moscow would comply with the truce.
Trump described the talks as “excellent and productive” and mentioned there was a “excellent likelihood that this horrible, bloody struggle can lastly come to an finish”.
Zelenskyy mentioned that he noticed an excellent likelihood to finish the struggle with Russia and urged the US and different allies to use stress on Moscow.
“Proper now, we have now an excellent likelihood to finish this struggle rapidly and safe peace. Now we have strong safety understandings with our European companions,” Zelenskyy mentioned on X.
Chatting with reporters, he reiterated his perception that Russian President Vladimir Putin will delay reaching a ceasefire so long as potential.
“If there’s a robust response from the US, they won’t allow them to mess around. And if there are steps that Russia is just not afraid of, they are going to delay the method,” Zelenskyy mentioned.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov informed reporters on Friday that Putin – who has expressed concern that Ukraine would exploit any truce to regroup – had used the late-night assembly with Witkoff to convey data and “alerts” to Trump.
“There are definitely causes to be cautiously optimistic,” Peskov mentioned, “[Putin] mentioned that he helps President Trump’s place by way of a settlement, however he voiced some questions that must be answered collectively”
Peskov mentioned the timing of a cellphone name between the presidents can be labored out as soon as Witkoff had briefed Trump.
Putin has mentioned he needs Ukraine to drop its ambitions to hitch NATO, Russia to regulate everything of the 4 Ukrainian areas it has claimed as its personal, and the dimensions of the Ukrainian military to be restricted.
He has additionally made clear he needs Western sanctions eased and a presidential election to be held in Ukraine, which Kyiv says is untimely whereas martial regulation stays in drive.
Tony Brenton, Former British ambassador to Russia mentioned that the struggle in Ukraine started disastrously for the Russians and has additionally value the Kremlin some huge cash, leaving Putin eager to “draw a conclusion which is sellable to his folks”.
“However there are some Russian worries about it. To begin with, they’re profitable that battle in Kursk and so they may need to end that off earlier than the ceasefire takes impact. Secondly, a ceasefire doesn’t imply everyone stops capturing … You must have some type of system … that’s policed,” he informed Al Jazeera.
“So in these phrases, there are delays and negotiations to get the ceasefire in place,” he mentioned.
“I feel there’s a actual likelihood really … that one will be optimistic that we’ll get the ceasefire … within the subsequent few weeks and there’s once more going to be a negotiation about long-term peace,” he added.