Putin Tells Ukraine Troops In Russian Region To ‘Surrender’

AFP/APP

Kyiv, Ukraine: 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 said.

Trump said “thousands” of Ukrainian troops were “completely surrounded by the Russian military, and in a very bad and vulnerable position”.