After Trump appeal, Putin says he will spare Ukrainians in Kursk if they surrender

A Russian service member places a flag oh the roof of a house in a part of the Kursk region, which was recently retaken by Russia's armed forces, in Russia. via Russian Defence Ministry
Russia will spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers in its
western Kursk region if Kyiv tells them to surrender, President Vladimir Putin
said on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump urged him to avoid a
"horrible massacre" there.
Ukraine denied its men were encircled, describing that as a
Russian fabrication, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the situation
"very difficult".
"I have strongly requested to President Putin that
their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since
World War II," he said.
Putin, addressing his Security Council, said he had read
Trump's appeal. While accusing Ukrainian troops of carrying out crimes against
civilians that he said amounted to "terrorism" - something Kyiv
denies - Putin said he understood the call by Trump to take humanitarian
considerations into account.
"In this regard, I would like to emphasize 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," Putin said.
"To effectively implement the appeal of the U.S.
president, a corresponding order from the military-political leadership of
Ukraine is needed for its military units to lay down their arms and
surrender."
The deputy chairman of Russia's security council, former
President Dmitry Medvedev, posted on social media that the flipside for Kyiv
was that "if they refuse to lay down their arms, they will all be
methodically and mercilessly destroyed".
Kursk became a key theatre of the war last August when
Ukraine, 2-1/2 years after Putin's full-scale invasion, turned the tables on
Moscow by grabbing a piece of Russia's own territory.
Seven months on, it is once again in the spotlight, as
Russian forces attempt to flush out the last remaining Ukrainians and the U.S.
urges Russia to agree to a ceasefire in the wider war. Putin said on Thursday
the Ukrainians were trapped and facing a choice of "surrender or
die".
Ukraine's general staff said on Friday: "Reports of the
alleged 'encirclement' of Ukrainian units by the enemy in the Kursk region are
false and fabricated by the Russians for political manipulation and to exert
pressure on Ukraine and its partners."
It said there had been 13 combat clashes on Friday and the
battlefield situation was largely unchanged.
"Units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine have
successfully regrouped, withdrawn to more advantageous defensive positions, and
are executing their assigned tasks within the Kursk region."
Zelenskiy told reporters that the Kursk offensive had
succeeded in diverting Russian forces from elsewhere on the battlefront.
"I can only thank our warriors for the Kursk operation.
I believe it fulfilled its task," Zelenskiy said.
Earlier the Russian defence ministry said Russian troops had
retaken Goncharovka, one of only a handful of Kursk settlements still in
Ukrainian hands.
Ukraine's border guard service said it repelled an attempt
by a 10-person Russian reconnaissance group to break into Ukrainian territory
in Sumy region, which borders Kursk.
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