Trump Repeats Disputed Putin Claim That He Has Ukrainian Troops ‘COMPLETELY SURROUNDED’: ‘This Would Be a Horrible Massacre’
AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File
President Donald Trump repeated Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s disputed claim that he has Ukrainian troops who have advanced into Russian territory “surrounded” on Friday.
“We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end — BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION,” wrote Trump on Truth Social. “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. God bless them all!!!”
While Trump is likely referring to the situation in the Kursk region of Russia and echoing the Russian claim that they hold the fate of Ukrainian soldiers remaining there, that assertion is disputed.
On March 7, Reuters reported that the Russians had “almost surrounded” the Ukrainians left in Kursk after Trump stopped sharing intelligence with the latter. But the situation in the area has changed, according to many observers.
“Ukrainian soldiers are NOT surrounded by Russians. This is simply untrue,” commented Der Spiegel‘s Mathieu von Rohr.
“Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are currently not ‘completely surrounded’ by the Russians,” agreed John Helin, the project lead for a Finnish open source intelligence group tracking the war in Ukraine who reported on Thursday that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from Kursk.
“Trump now accepting at face value a false Putin’s story that Russian forces have surrounded Ukrainains [sic] in Kursk, and begging Putin for mercy. Which presumably Putin will offer to ‘grant’ for peace,” argued former Democratic congressman Tom Malinowski.
Christopher Miller, chief correspondent for The Financial Times in Kyiv, called Trump’s description inaccurate and “Kremlin propaganda.”
Trump’s plea on behalf of the supposedly surrounded troops comes amidst his attempt to broker a ceasefire deal that the Ukrainians have already agreed to. additional concessions from the country he invaded without provocation a little over three years ago.
