President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Friday insisted that Ukraine order a few of its forces to give up to Russia, a placing demand made hours after President Trump mentioned the USA had “excellent and productive” discussions with Mr. Putin a few potential cease-fire in Ukraine.
Mr. Putin’s televised feedback got here shortly after Mr. Trump, on social media, mentioned he had urged the Russian chief to spare the lives of Ukrainian troopers struggling to carry on to a patch of land within the Kursk area of Russia.
“I’ve strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Each presidents claimed on Friday that Ukrainian forces had been surrounded in Kursk, the world the place Kyiv’s troops shocked Russia with a cross-border incursion final summer season. Impartial analysts have challenged these claims, and Ukraine’s army on Friday once more rejected them.
Nonetheless, Russian forces have of late had the higher hand within the preventing in Kursk. And Mr. Putin mentioned that for Mr. Trump’s name “to be successfully carried out,” the leaders of Ukraine wanted to order “its army models to put down their arms and give up.” Neither man has raised the thought of Russian troops on Ukrainian land surrendering.
Battles have been raging in Kursk as Moscow’s forces push to drive Ukrainian troops from the land they seized over the summer season. Russian troops have superior in latest days, with Mr. Putin urging them to complete the job “within the shortest doable time.”
What occurs subsequent in Kursk has turn out to be a key level of rivalry forward of a possible cease-fire. Mr. Putin had on Thursday steered much less explicitly that he needed Ukraine to order its troopers there to give up as a part of any deal to finish the struggle, which has killed greater than 1,000,000 troopers and numerous civilians over three years of grinding preventing.
However his feedback on Friday had been way more direct, and got here as each the Kremlin and White Home signaled negotiations had been transferring ahead regardless of the raft of concessions Moscow seems to be searching for.
After the Russian chief met with Steve Witkoff, the U.S. particular envoy, in Moscow, late Thursday, high officers at each the White Home and the Kremlin expressed “cautious optimism.”
“We had excellent and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday,” Mr. Trump wrote Friday morning on his Fact Social platform, in an obvious reference to the assembly with Mr. Witkoff. “There’s a excellent probability that this horrible, bloody struggle can lastly come to an finish.”
However President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine questioned whether or not Russia was appearing in good religion, stating that his nation had already agreed to a 30-day truce after a gathering with U.S. officers in Saudi Arabia this week.
“The world sees how Russia is intentionally setting circumstances that solely complicate and drag out the method,” Mr. Zelensky mentioned Friday on social media. “Russia is the one social gathering that desires the struggle to proceed and diplomacy to interrupt down.”
It wasn’t instantly clear whether or not Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump had instantly spoken to one another. The Kremlin mentioned earlier Friday that Mr. Putin, in his assembly with Mr. Witkoff, “handed alongside info and extra indicators for President Trump.” It additionally mentioned that Mr. Putin anticipated to speak to Mr. Trump however that the decision had but to be scheduled.
In that Fact Social put up, Mr. Trump additionally mentioned 1000’s of Ukrainian troops had been “utterly surrounded by the Russian army” — an obvious reference to Russian claims that Ukrainian troopers had been surrounded in Kursk
“There isn’t any menace of encirclement of our models,” the Ukrainian army’s common employees mentioned in an announcement quickly after on Friday, calling such stories “false and fabricated by the Russians.”
A Ukrainian soldier preventing in Kursk who was reached by cellphone on Friday, talking on situation of anonymity to debate the present scenario on the battlefield, mentioned “the scenario is dangerous, nearly vital.” Nevertheless it was not as dangerous as Mr. Trump described in his put up, the soldier added.
The Ukrainian authorities on Friday ordered a number of villages within the Sumy area, throughout the border from Kursk, to evacuate amid elevated assaults and fears that the preventing may spill over.
“Aerial assaults — equivalent to glide bombs and drones — have intensified within the border areas,” Volodymyr Artiukhin, the Ukrainian head of the Sumy Regional Navy Administration, mentioned on Fb. He introduced the obligatory evacuation on Friday of eight villages, affecting 543 residents.
Driving Ukrainian troops out of Kursk would deny Mr. Zelensky a big bargaining chip in any negotiations. And earlier than the assembly with Mr. Witkoff, Mr. Putin confirmed on Thursday that he was in no hurry to simply accept the provide of a 30-day truce made by Ukraine and the USA this week — telling a information convention that he was open to the proposal, however including that he would search to barter over a slew of points, equivalent to Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine, that might delay or derail any deal.
Dmitri S. Peskov, Mr. Putin’s spokesman, steered on Friday that the result of the diplomatic back-and-forth would solely turn out to be clear after Mr. Witkoff had briefed Mr. Trump and after the Russian and American leaders had spoken by cellphone. The 2 leaders are final identified to have spoken on Feb. 12.
Mr. Witkoff, who’s formally the president’s Center East envoy, has additionally taken on a key position as an interlocutor with Russia — spending three hours assembly with Mr. Putin final month as he finalized a prisoner alternate.
“After Mr. Witkoff passes alongside the entire info he obtained in Moscow to his head of state — we’ll decide the timing of the dialog after that,” Mr. Peskov mentioned. “There’s an understanding on each side that such a dialog is critical.”
Mr. Peskov’s feedback had been the most recent indication that Mr. Putin is probably going attempting to steadiness a want to keep away from upsetting Mr. Trump along with his effort to drive wide-ranging concessions from the West and from Ukraine. Whereas Mr. Trump says he desires to finish the struggle as shortly as doable, Mr. Putin seems assured that he has time on his facet and that an unconditional cease-fire would profit Ukraine.
Officers in Kyiv have argued that Mr. Putin is now merely attempting to pull out negotiations whereas he continues preventing and has no plans to make concessions that might carry a few sturdy peace.
“Ukraine seeks an finish to the struggle,” the nation’s international minister, Andrii Sybiha, posted on X on Friday. “Putin seeks to proceed the struggle. The remainder of his phrases are only a smoke-screen.”
Marc Santora and contributed reporting from Dnipro, Ukraine.
