Putin says Russia will spare Ukrainian forces in Kursk if they surrender

A Russian self-propelled multiple rocket launcher is fired toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location in the Kursk region border area [File: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP]

Russia will spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers in its western Kursk region if Kyiv orders them to surrender, President Vladimir Putin has said after US President Donald Trump urged him to avoid a “horrible massacre” there.

Ukraine denied its forces in Kursk were encircled, describing the claim as a Russian fabrication, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday described the situation for Ukrainian forces there as “very difficult”.