(AFP) – President Vladimir Putin called on Friday for beleaguered Ukrainian troops in the Russian region of Kursk to “surrender” as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russian leader of seeking to sabotage a ceasefire initiative. US President Donald Trump urged Putin to spare the lives of the Ukrainian troops as he said his envoy had held “productive” talks with Russia’s leader on a proposed 30-day ceasefire.
Russia has mounted a rapid counteroffensive in the western border region of Kursk over the past week, recapturing much of the territory Ukraine seized in a shock incursion last August. Defeat in Kursk would be a major blow to Ukraine’s plans to use its hold on the region as a bargaining chip in peace talks for the three-year-old war. “We are sympathetic to President Trump’s call,” Putin said in remarks broadcast on Russian television. “If they lay down their arms and surrender, they will be guaranteed life and dignified treatment,” Putin stated.
Trump said “thousands” of Ukrainian troops were “completely surrounded by the Russian military, and in a very bad and vulnerable position.” He added, “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.” Ukraine’s military leadership denied the claims, asserting that “there is no threat of our units being encircled,” according to a post on social media by Ukraine’s General Staff.
Zelensky gave a more sober assessment in comments to reporters in Kyiv, acknowledging that “the situation in the Kursk region is obviously very difficult.” He insisted, however, that the campaign still had value. He indicated that Russia had been forced to pull troops from other areas on the front line, easing pressure on Ukrainian forces fighting to maintain control of the eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Trump’s latest comments came as he provided an update on a meeting Thursday between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin regarding a US-Ukrainian proposal for a 30-day pause in hostilities. “We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end,” Trump stated on his Truth Social platform.
Putin expressed on Thursday that he had “serious questions” about the ceasefire proposal and noted that events in Kursk would influence the next moves towards a ceasefire. Zelensky accused the Russian leader of attempting to undermine the ceasefire initiative. “He is now doing everything he can to sabotage diplomacy by setting extremely difficult and unacceptable conditions right from the start even before a ceasefire,” Zelensky posted on X.
The Kremlin stated on Friday that it was “cautiously optimistic” that a deal could be reached, but emphasized that Trump and Putin needed to speak directly for talks to progress. US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz expressed some cautious optimism in a Fox News interview following Witkoff’s visit. Additionally, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted at a Group of Seven western powers meeting in Canada that both sides must make “concessions” for progress.
The G7 foreign ministers warned Russia of new sanctions unless it accepted a ceasefire “on equal terms,” indicating that sanctions could include “caps on oil prices, as well as additional support for Ukraine, and other means.” France and Germany accused Russia of seeking to block a ceasefire, and discussions regarding support for Ukraine were scheduled for Saturday in a video conference among some European leaders and Zelensky. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer remarked on Friday that Russia’s “complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.”
Diplomatic sources indicated that EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas would propose that the 27-country bloc supply up to 40 billion euros ($43.5 billion) in new military aid to Ukraine. Ukraine hoped its hold on Kursk would serve as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Russia, as it considered potential land swaps with Moscow, which has occupied around a fifth of Ukraine since taking Crimea in 2014 and launching its military offensive in February 2022.
© 2024 AFP
