Vladimir Putin says Ukraine must surrender after Donald Trump calls for soldiers to be spared - ABC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Ukraine pushed back against claims its troops are surrounded in Kursk.
ByMeredith DelisoMarch 14, 2025, 2:31 PM
Vladimir Putin said Ukraine must surrender after President Donald Trump urged the Russian leader to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, following ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Russia in Moscow.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Thursday's discussions with Russia "very good and productive" and said there is a "very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end."
He also claimed that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are surrounded.
"AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION," he said.
"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 added.
President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Mar. 13, 2025.Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Trump seemed to be referring to the sticking point in Russia's Kursk region, something Putin has discussed as an issue in the talks. He also appeared to echo remarks Putin made in response to the U.S.-Ukraine ceasefire proposal on Thursday that Ukrainian troops are encircled in Kursk -- a scenario Ukraine strongly denied.
Putin responded to Trump's remarks on Friday, saying the soldiers need to surrender to be spared.
"[In] the event of a ceasefire and surrender, they will be guaranteed life and a worthy treatment in accordance with the norms of international law and the laws of the Russian Federation," he said.
MORE: Several Ukrainian drones intercepted overnight just 2 miles away from Kremlin, Russia says
Ukraine pushed back Friday against the claims that its troops are surrounded in the Kursk region, where Putin this week ordered forces to "destroy" all Ukrainian formations remaining in the contested border region.
"The reports about the supposed 'encirclement' of Ukrainian units in the Kursk region are false and are being fabricated by the Russians for political purposes and to put pressure on Ukraine and its partners," the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in a statement on Friday.
"The threat of encirclement of our units is absent," it added.
In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, March 14, 2025, Russian soldiers patrol an area in the Kursk region of Russia after it was taken over by Russian troops.Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
The statement comes a day after Putin referred to an "encirclement" in the Kursk region while remarking on the U.S.-Ukraine ceasefire proposal.
"We are for it. But there is a nuance," Putin said of a 30-day ceasefire during a press briefing. "First, what are we going to do with the encirclement in the Kursk region?"
He said the situation in Kursk is "completely under our control, and the group that invaded our territory is in isolation," and that it would be "very good for the Ukrainian side to reach a truce for at least 30 days."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy countered Friday that Putin is "lying" about the conflict and is blocking any diplomatic efforts to end the war.
"Putin is lying about the real situation on the battlefield, he is lying about the casualties, he is lying about the true state of his economy, which has been damaged by his foolish imperial ambitions, and he is doing everything possible to ensure that diplomacy fails," he said.
"Putin cannot exit this war because that would leave him with nothing," he continued. "That is why he is now doing everything he can to sabotage diplomacy by setting extremely difficult and unacceptable conditions right from the start even before a ceasefire."
The claim that Ukrainian forces are surrounded was also shot down by defense analyst Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment who focuses on the Russian and Ukrainian militaries, who called it "simply untrue."
MORE: Putin demands Kursk total victory ahead of Moscow talks with Trump envoy
George Barros, the Russian team lead for the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War, also reacted on X to Trump's remarks, saying, "Available evidence from the battlefield does not indicate any Russian encirclements of Ukrainian forces at scale, and certainly not by the thousands."
Ukrainian forces pushed into Kursk last August in a surprise offensive, seizing the town of Sudzha and surrounding villages. Kyiv's troops have repelled months of Russian counteroffensives, but recent weeks have seen their salient crumble and Russian forces retake significant ground.
During a visit to a command center in Kursk on Wednesday while clad in military fatigues, Putin said, "Your task is to completely destroy the enemy, which has entrenched itself in the Kursk region and is still conducting warfare here, and fully liberate the Kursk region's territory within the shortest possible time."
Russia's President Vladimir Putin Putin visits a command point for the Kursk group of troops involved in the counteroffensive in the Kursk region, Mar. 12, 2025.Kremlin.Ru/AFP via Getty Images
On Wednesday, Russian troops raised their flags over central Sudzha in Kursk as Ukrainian forces hurriedly retreated toward the shared border.
Russian advances to the border in the Kursk Oblast appeared to have slowed on Thursday compared to recent days, according to the latest assessment from the Institute for the Study of War.
The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said Friday that the situation "has not undergone significant changes over the past day," and that troops are "regrouping" and have withdrawn to "more advantageous defense lines."
"Our soldiers are repelling enemy offensive actions and delivering effective fire damage with all types of weapons," it said.
Russian officials have indicated they will not engage in peace negotiations while any of Kursk remains under Ukrainian control.
Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine -- a step leaders in Kyiv and Washington, D.C., hope will facilitate a larger peace deal to end Russia's three-year-old invasion of its neighbor.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there is "reason to be cautiously optimistic" about a ceasefire and said Putin and Trump now need to talk. The timing of that conversation will be determined once Witkoff reports to Trump, he said.
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Trump is selling out Ukraine.
When he claimed he could end the war with a phone call, I assumed he would try to just sell out Ukraine.
I cannot think of any other way a phone call could accomplish that.
Yeah, soldiers must surrender to be spared. That’s how war works.
No, cease fires are another method.
Trump and Rubio have Putins back. Any other conclusion is a lie.
Lee surrendered to Grant, it's nothing new.
It makes sense for them to surrender, since they have lost the war.
Can't understand why the left seems to want to let the killing to continue.
You think Russia is going to allow those soldiers to get supplies?
I mean if they are not encircled like Ukraine claims they are- then they should have no problem fully withdrawing w/o encountering any Russian troops; and have no issue getting supplies from Ukraine.
If they are encircled- then they are SOL; and 30 days is a long time to survive in isolation surrounded in enemy territory.
Guess we shall see if the cease fire goes through.
I give it no chance as neither side is interested in the slightest in the war ending at this point. Zelenskyy still mistakenly thinks the US and Europe will give him his blank check to continue fighting until the last Ukrainian standing that is not him, his family, or one of his cronies; and Putin has realized that no matter how badly the Russian military fights- they will win by shear numbers alone.
You are either not paying attention or are just making shit up.
Yes.
Except when dealing with slweaze like Putin-- who has been known to torture then massicre surrendering Ukrainian soldiers..
He just should force them to do the walk of shame in front of the media like Ukraine did.
The title is misleading.
The author of this article is making it sound like Putin is demanding Ukraine surrender the war.
He is talking about a pocket near Kursk to surrender. That is up to the Ukraine military.
At least we should be clear about the facts.
Such compassion for the Ukrainian soldiers doing the fighting.
If we could only convince putin that Ukraine was negotiating from a position of strength he would let them all go unharmed. S/
In a specific situation like this, that is unlikely. So your sarcasm is based on an unrealistic hypothesis (instant mustering of overwhelming force) that you just made up.
In general, however, if Putin believes he is fighting a losing battle, he is more likely to negotiate. This is the principle of military compellence.
Thank you for explaining what I meant to me.
Now if we could only convince putin that he is fighting a losing battle he would negotiate and let them all go unharmed. S/
I did not explain what you meant, I criticized what you wrote.
Oh, in that case thanks for your opinion
Yeppers, that's what Trump is always about, looking out for the little guy thousands of miles away that he stripped of valuable munitions and weaponry when just a presidential candidate and has bent over backwards to praise Putin and denigrate the leader of the victimized Ukranian Country.
You blame the Ukranians for protecting their homeland from an invader?
If we were invaded by a superior foreign power seeking to take our land, would you fault US soldiers from defending our nation?
I don't blame them.
I blame Brandon, along with the fucking Democrats and Rhinos in Congress, for sending billions we will never see again in financial and military aid to a bunch of Nazis and fascists in Ukraine to fight a proxy quagmire war with no way out. A war that left the US military with resources they need to fight protracted conflict if needed.
I blame NATO countries and the EU for doing their normal and making grand promises and not fulfilling them; while expecting the US to do all of the heavy lifting like always.
I don't give a shit if Ukraine fights to last person standing; but they can do it w/o US taxpayer money and military hardware and munitions.
Only country loving this is China. Xi couldn't ask for anything more. Russia now is basically a vassal state of China reliant on them for weapons and munitions (while Russia gives cheap oil, gas, and wheat in return); and the US struggling with debt and trying to resupply our military.
Still waiting for those with bleeding hearts for Ukraine to pick up and head to Poland. From there it is a short trip across the border to Ukraine. They will literally take anyone now- there aren't enough Ukrainians left willing to fight- even with a mandatory draft with increased age levels.
I ignored your post as soon as I read “Brandon”.
O ye of neither faith nor wit, this current stage of the war has gone on for three years and those who had the hubris to predict it would last 2-3 weeks have not learned a thing. But then these same people were claiming the 'woke' US armed forces would be crushed by the 'manly' Russian.
Satellite and aerial reconnaissance should provide an accurate assessment of the situation on the ground. It really is much more likely that Donald Trump has better intelligence available than the Institute for the Study of War. If this private sector group is getting real time intel then somebody's little dangle needs to be nailed to a wall of shame somewhere. These third party reports are not too much more than speculation. Obscuring the facts from the public allows speculation and propaganda to reign over facts.
A ceasefire won't include provisions for resupply; especially for encircled forces. Surrender would still be the only way out. At the minimum any encircled troops would be required to abandon their arms before being repatriated.