WASHINGTON, March 15: US President Donald Trump revealed that he had appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainian troops who were “completely surrounded” by the Russian military. Trump made this statement on Truth Social, his social media platform, describing a “good and productive” phone call with Putin on Thursday during which he strongly requested that the troops’ lives be spared.
Trump’s appeal was related to the ongoing Russian military advance on Ukrainian-held territory in the Kursk region, which had been seized by Ukraine. The Russian president had visited the area on Thursday to mark the military’s progress. “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 — BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION,” Trump wrote in his post. “I have strongly requested President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II.”
However, Ukraine’s top military commander denied reports that Ukrainian troops were being encircled in Kursk, as mentioned by Reuters, stating that the troops were instead adopting better defensive positions.
In related diplomatic developments, President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow for talks on Thursday, the same day Putin announced his in-principle agreement to a ceasefire plan. However, Putin made clear that certain conditions must be met before officially agreeing to the ceasefire, including that Ukraine must not use the pause to mobilize troops or receive supplies of weapons.
The US has proposed a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine accepted following a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
