Trump asks Putin to spare Ukraine troops, hails 'productive' talks

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump pleaded on Friday with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline, after what he called "very good and productive" ceasefire discussions in Moscow.

Trump's comments came after his special envoy held talks with Putin in Moscow to discuss details of a plan for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine after three years of war.

"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," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later clarified to reporters that Trump himself had not spoken to Putin on Thursday night. She said no call was scheduled on Friday "but that could obviously change."

Trump said last week he had spoken to Putin "numerous" times since returning to office, and apart from the one officially announced call in February that led to the current ceasefire push.

In his post on Friday, Trump also issued an unusual appeal to Putin over what he said were "thousands" of Ukrainian troops who were "completely surrounded by the Russian military, and in a very bad and vulnerable position."

Kyiv quickly denied Trump's claim.

"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!!!" Trump wrote.

Moscow has in the past week been driving much of Ukraine's forces out of Russia's Kursk region, parts of which Kyiv occupied last year.

Kursk was one of Kyiv's few bargaining chips in swapping land with Russia, which has occupied around a fifth of Ukraine since it took Crimea in 2014 and launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia said earlier Friday that Putin had sent "additional" signals to Trump about a ceasefire, adding it was "cautiously optimistic" about the prospect of a deal.

US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin late Thursday to lay out the details of the joint US-Ukrainian plan.

The Kremlin said both sides agreed that a "conversation is needed" between Trump and Putin but that the timing was yet to be determined.