Donald Trump urges Vladimir Putin to spare Ukrainian troops after ‘productive talks’
Donald Trump has implored Vladimir Putin to avoid a “horrible massacre” of Ukrainian troops as a bombshell report claimed Russia viewed the US President as weak and easy to manipulate.
Donald Trump has said the US had “very good and productive” talks with Vladimir Putin where he asked the Russian president to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainian troops who are reportedly encircled in the western Kursk region and avoid a “horrible massacre”.
“There is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Russia said it would spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers if Kyiv tells them to surrender, Mr Putin has said after US president Donald Trump urged him to avoid a “horrible massacre” there.
Ukraine denied its men were encircled.
Mr Trump said he had asked the Russian president to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainians who he said were “completely surrounded”. “This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II,” he said.
Mr Putin accused Ukrainian troops of carrying out crimes against civilians but said he understood the call by Mr Trump to take humanitarian considerations into account.
“In this regard, I would like to emphasise that if (the Ukrainian troops) lay down their arms and surrender, they will be guaranteed life and decent treatment in accordance with international law and the laws of the Russian Federation,” Mr Putin said.
“To effectively implement the appeal of the US president, a corresponding order from the military-political leadership of Ukraine is needed for its military units to lay down their arms and surrender.”
Mr Trump’s “productive” comments come after a bombshell report claimed Moscow sees the US President as weak and easy to manipulate.
Russian officials in the Kremlin believe the US president lacks a core set of principles, a European intelligence official told the Washington Post, citing recent intelligence.
The Russian president also held talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff late on Thursday, and Mr Putin expressed “solidarity” with the White House’s position on a ceasefire to Mr Witkoff – but believes there is “still a lot to be done” before a truce can become reality.
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ZELENSKY ACCUSES PUTIN OF ‘LYING’
It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Mr Putin of “lying” about the situation on the battlefield, in an apparent response to the Russian autocrat’s claim that Ukrainian troops are surrounded in Kursk.
“Putin is lying about the real situation on the battlefield, he is lying about the casualties... and he is doing everything possible to ensure that diplomacy fails,” Mr Zelensky said in a long-winded X post which accused Moscow of deliberately sabotaging peace efforts.
He called Mr Putin’s remarks as “Russian manipulation”, saying he is deliberately delaying the possibility of a ceasefire without explicitly rejecting it because he wants to “kill more Ukrainians”.
In his nightly address, Mr Zelensky said: “Putin often does this – he does not say ‘no’ directly, but he does it in such a way that practically everything only delays and makes normal decisions impossible.”
Mr Zelensky also accused Russia of “deliberately” trying to drag out the ceasefire process, saying Moscow wants the war to continue.
“The exchange of prisoners and an unconditional 30-day full interim ceasefire are the first quick steps that could significantly bring us closer to a just and lasting peace. Ukraine is ready to take these steps because the Ukrainian people want peace more than anyone,” Mr Zelensky said on X.
“Meanwhile, the world sees how Russia is deliberately setting conditions that only complicate and drag out the process, as Russia is the only party that wants the war to continue and diplomacy to break down.”
US ENVOY LEAVES RUSSIA WITHOUT CEASEFIRE DEAL
America’s special envoy to Russia Steve Witkoff has left Moscow without a ceasefire deal after Vladimir Putin rejected Donald Trump’s ceasefire terms over the war with Ukraine.
Mr Putin met with Mr Witkoff Thursday night local time after having kept the American waiting since midday, according to flight tracking data and Russian reports, but ultimately sent him home with “signals” for Mr Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters.
“A lot still needs to be done,” Mr Peskov said of the ceasefire agreement, noting that Mr Witkoff “presented additional information to the Russian side”.
Mr Trump’s proposal was straightforward: Russia and Ukraine would stop all conflict for 30 days and conduct a prisoner exchange as a sign of both parties’ commitment to finding a peaceful resolution. The US would also restart sharing intelligence with and delivering aid to Kyiv.
But Mr Putin demanded additional measures — a halt to the aid and intelligence-sharing, as well as forcing Ukraine not to train, reinforce or resupply its forces during the ceasefire — during comments to the media on Thursday local time.
Mr Trump responded saying it would be a “very disappointing moment for the world” if Mr Putin did not agree to his ceasefire proposal.
“Putin’s attempts to introduce a new ceasefire agreement on terms that asymmetrically benefit Russia ignore Trump’s stated intention that the ceasefire set conditions for negotiations toward a more comprehensive peace agreement in the future,” the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest analysis.
“An agreement along the lines Putin appears to be offering would undermine the Trump administration’s stated objective of bringing about a sustainable peace in Ukraine, would reinforce Putin’s belief that Russia can militarily defeat Ukraine, and would incentivise Putin to resume military operations against Ukraine rather than making any concessions in formal negotiations to end the war.”
Moscow has a new chance to prove to Mr Trump it wants peace Friday after the US President spoke to Fox News pundit, Brian Kilmeade.
“At this very moment thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are being encircled in Kursk. He strongly told Vladimir Putin directly that he wants their lives spared,” Mr Kilmeade said of Mr Trump’s message to him.
FOOTAGE SHOWS UKRAINE ATTACK ON RUSSIA
Alarming footage has emerged of explosions at a Russian oil refinery that was hit during a Ukrainian drone attack, according to reports.
Multiple drones were fired at Moscow in the latest aerial attack from Ukraine overnight, just hours after Volodymyr Zelensky accused Vladimir Putin of preparing to reject the ceasefire proposal he agreed with the US.
A fireball lights up the night sky over the Tuapse oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region, giving rise to a massive plume of smoke.
Regional governor Veniamin Kondratiev took to Telegram moment after the attack and said the drones had set fire to a gasoline storage tank.
“The area of the fire is more than 1,000 square meters, and emergency services are working,” Kondratiev wrote on Telegram.
There were no casualties. Kyiv has not commented on the attack.
It comes after US President Donald Trump has been involved in negotiating a ceasefire deal between the two countries.
Ukraine agreed to a proposal for an immediate ceasefire.
Mr Putin, however, initially rejected the terms of Mr Trump’s proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, demanding the West stop arming Kyiv before the Kremlin would consider such an arrangement.
While he said Moscow was willing to “cease hostilities,” Mr Putin said Moscow would only agree to the Trump deal if it were changed substantially.
“We agree with proposals to cease hostilities [in Ukraine], but this cessation must lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the root cause of the initial crisis,” he said, without defining what he felt was the “cause.”
“We also want guarantees that Ukraine will not mobilise, train soldiers, or receive weapons during the 30-day ceasefire,” Mr Putin said, without indicating Russia would be willing to abide by the same conditions.
Mr Trump said that while it was “very disappointing”, Mr Putin “put out a very promising statement but it wasn’t complete”, and that he would “love to meet with him”, adding “we have to get it over with fast”.
“Hopefully Russia will do the right thing,” he said to reporters at the White House during a meeting with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte.
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Originally published as Donald Trump urges Vladimir Putin to spare Ukrainian troops after ‘productive talks’