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Putin says Ukrainians face choice of ‘surrender or die’ as Russia tightens squeeze in Kursk
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (March 13) that Russia had trapped the remaining Ukrainian soldiers in its western Kursk region, where they have clung on for more than seven months in one of the key battles of the war.
A day after instructing his top commanders to complete the ejection of Ukrainian forces as fast as possible, Putin told a news conference that the situation in Kursk was “completely under our control, and the group that invaded our territory is in isolation”.
Ukraine’s top commander denied this week that his men were being encircled, but said they were adopting better defensive positions. Its general staff said on Thursday that five Russian attacks had been repelled and clashes were continuing in four locations.
Putin said Ukrainian soldiers were cut off inside the invasion zone. “And if a physical blockade occurs in the coming days, then no one will be able to leave at all, there will be only two ways — to surrender or die.”
PHOTO: Reuters
Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Kursk last August aimed to embarrass Putin, divert Russian forces from elsewhere on the front lines and grab land to trade for its own captured territory. Its troops were the first to invade Russia since Adolf Hitler’s army in 1941.
But Russia’s forces, supported by troops from its ally North Korea, have gradually clawed back the lost ground, intensifying pressure on Ukraine in the past week by cutting supply lines.
Putin’s growing confidence was reflected in a surprise visit on Wednesday to commanders in Kursk, when he told them to finish the job “in the shortest possible timeframe”.
Ceasefire ‘nuances’
At his news conference, Putin said Russia supported the idea of a ceasefire, but with the caveat that it should lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of the conflict.
He said there were a number of “nuances”, including in Kursk, where a truce would be “very good” for the Ukrainian side.
“If we stop hostilities for 30 days, what does that mean? That everyone who is there will leave without a fight? Should we let them out of there after they have committed a lot of crimes against civilians? Or will the Ukrainian leadership give us the order to lay down our arms? It is not clear.”
Ukraine denies committing such crimes, says it abides by humanitarian law and does not target civilians.
Video from Sudzha, published by Russian media and military bloggers, showed scenes of devastation from the seven months of fighting, with burnt-out vehicles, roofless buildings and mountains of rubble.