Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls to spare thousands of Ukrainian soldiers reportedly trapped in Kursk. Speaking from Novo-Ogaryovo, Putin said a surrender order from Ukraine’s leadership is necessary for a ceasefire. Russia claims its forces have fully encircled Ukrainian troops in the region, which was the site of a major counteroffensive last year. However, Kyiv denies its forces are trapped, acknowledging only that the situation is difficult.
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00:00Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has heard calls from U.S. President Donald Trump
00:05to spare the lives of thousands of trapped Ukrainian soldiers in Russian region of Kursk.
00:11For effective implementation of the call of the US President, it is necessary to comply
00:18with the order of the military-political leadership of Ukraine, its military units, to lay down
00:24arms and surrender to captivity.
00:28Russia says it has surrounded remaining Ukrainian troops in Kursk, where Ukraine launched a
00:33counter-offensive last year, hoping to gain an upper hand against Russia's years-long
00:38invasion.
00:39Kyiv denies its troops are trapped, but says the situation is very difficult.
00:45Trump says he's optimistic a ceasefire deal will be agreed.
00:48I'm very concerned about the field.
00:51In the field there's a very vulnerable group of Ukrainian soldiers right now that are actually
00:57surrounded and that's not good because we don't want them to die.
01:04Enough people have died, so we'll see what happens with regard to all of it.
01:09But I'm getting, from the standpoint about a ceasefire and ultimately a deal, some pretty
01:15good vibes coming out of Russia.
01:18U.S. officials have been working with Moscow to negotiate a ceasefire deal for Ukraine.