After Trump appeal, Putin says he will spare Ukrainians in Kursk if they surrender

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 14, 2025 2:15 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Russia volition spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers successful its western Kursk region if Kyiv tells them to surrender, President Vladimir Putin said connected Friday aft U.S. President Donald Trump urged him to debar a "horrible massacre" there.

Ukraine denied its men were encircled, describing that arsenic a Russian fabrication, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the concern "very difficult."

Trump, successful a societal media post, said helium had asked the Russian president to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainians who helium said were "completely surrounded" and vulnerable.

"I person powerfully requested to President Putin that their lives beryllium spared. This would beryllium a horrible massacre, 1 not seen since World War II," helium said.

Putin, addressing his Security Council, said helium had work Trump's appeal. While accusing Ukrainian troops of carrying retired crimes against civilians that helium said amounted to "terrorism" — thing Kyiv denies — Putin said helium understood the telephone by Trump to instrumentality humanitarian considerations into account.

"In this regard, I would similar to stress that if [the Ukrainian troops] lay down their arms and surrender, they volition beryllium guaranteed beingness and decent attraction successful accordance with planetary instrumentality and the laws of the Russian Federation," Putin said.

"To efficaciously instrumentality the entreaty of the U.S. president, a corresponding bid from the military-political enactment of Ukraine is needed for its subject units to laic down their arms and surrender."

The lawman president of Russia's information council, erstwhile president Dmitry Medvedev, posted connected societal media that the flipside for Kyiv was that "if they garbage to laic down their arms, they volition each beryllium methodically and mercilessly destroyed."

Reports of 'encirclement' fabricated: Ukraine's wide staff

Kursk became a cardinal theatre of the warfare past August erstwhile Ukraine, much than 2 years aft Putin's full-scale invasion, turned the tables connected Moscow by grabbing a portion of Russia's ain territory.

Seven months on, it is erstwhile again successful the spotlight, arsenic Russian forces effort to flush retired the past remaining Ukrainians and the U.S. urges Russia to hold to a ceasefire successful the wider war. Putin said connected Thursday the Ukrainians were trapped and facing a prime of "surrender oregon die."

Ukraine's wide unit said connected Friday: "Reports of the alleged 'encirclement' of Ukrainian units by the force successful the Kursk region are mendacious and fabricated by the Russians for governmental manipulation and to exert unit connected Ukraine and its partners."

WATCH | Putin says he won't motion connected ceasefire deal until large questions answered:

It said determination had been 13 combat clashes connected Friday, and the battlefield concern was mostly unchanged.

"Units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine person successfully regrouped, withdrawn to much advantageous antiaircraft positions, and are executing their assigned tasks wrong the Kursk region."

Zelenskyy told reporters that the Kursk offensive had succeeded successful diverting Russian forces from elsewhere connected the battlefront.

"I tin lone convey our warriors for the Kursk operation. I judge it fulfilled its task," Zelenskyy said.

Earlier the Russian defence ministry said Russian troops had retaken Goncharovka, 1 of lone a fistful of Kursk settlements inactive successful Ukrainian hands.

Ukraine's borderline defender work said it repelled an effort by a 10-person Russian reconnaissance radical to interruption into Ukrainian territory successful Sumy region, which borders Kursk.