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 state of affairs 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 might be a horrible bloodbath, one not seen since World Battle II,” he mentioned.
Putin, addressing his Safety Council, mentioned he had learn Trump’s enchantment 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 respectable therapy in accordance with worldwide legislation and the legal guidelines of the Russian Federation,” Putin mentioned.
“To successfully implement the enchantment of the US president, a corresponding order from the military-political management of Ukraine is required for its army models to put down their arms and give up.”
Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk have come below rising stress in current days, with a Russian counteroffensive wresting a lot of the land Ukraine captured there final summer time, denying Kyiv a significant level of leverage over Moscow in any potential truce talks.
Russian troops have additionally crossed the frontier into Ukrainian territory within the Sumy area dealing with 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 introduced a collection 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 conflict can lastly come to an finish”.
Zelenskyy mentioned that he noticed a superb likelihood to finish the conflict with Russia and urged the US and different allies to use stress on Moscow.
“Proper now, now we have a superb likelihood to finish this conflict rapidly and safe peace. Now we have stable 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 attainable.
“If there’s a sturdy 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 advised 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 info and “indicators” to Trump.
“There are definitely causes to be cautiously optimistic,” Peskov mentioned, “[Putin] mentioned that he helps President Trump’s place when it comes to 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 manage the whole thing of the 4 Ukrainian areas it has claimed as its personal, and the scale 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 legislation stays in power.
Tony Brenton, Former British ambassador to Russia mentioned that the conflict in Ukraine started disastrously for the Russians and has additionally price 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 start with, they’re profitable that battle in Kursk and so they may wish to end that off earlier than the ceasefire takes impact. Secondly, a ceasefire doesn’t imply all people stops taking pictures … You need to have some kind of system … that’s policed,” he advised Al Jazeera.
“So in these phrases, there are delays and negotiations to get the ceasefire in place,” he mentioned.
“I believe there’s a actual likelihood truly … 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.