(March 14): US President Donald Trump appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainian troops he said were in a “very bad and vulnerable position” and avoid what he said would be a massacre unlike anything since World War II.

“I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Trump didn’t say what he was referring to, and a White House spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for clarification. Russian troops have regained ground in the Kursk region that Ukrainian troops took in a surprise incursion in August, but there isn’t public evidence that they are in the dire peril that Trump described. 

Trump made the appeal as the US is looking to persuade Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine. In his post, Trump said the US had “very good and productive discussions” with Putin on Thursday.

Trump dispatched US envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow for the talks, after earlier in the week securing agreement with Ukrainian officials for the month-long pause in fighting. That’s turned attention to Russia, which so far has stopped short of backing the proposed truce.

Still, Trump — who has enjoyed a warm relationship with Putin dating back to his first administration — has expressed optimism that Russia will ultimately agree to his proposal, and has already said that he expects Ukraine to accept terms that include formalising the Russian annexation of some territory and abandoning their bid to join Nato.

Earlier on Friday, the Kremlin said Putin had asked Witkoff to convey messages to Trump ahead of a possible phone call between the two leaders.

“Additional information was provided to the Russian side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, according to the Interfax news agency. “Putin asked Witkoff to convey information and additional messages to President Trump.” 

A decision on a phone call between Trump and Putin will be made once Witkoff has relayed the information from the talks, and both sides understand the need for a discussion, Peskov said, without giving further details. There are reasons for “cautious optimism” about prospects for a ceasefire, he added, according to Interfax.

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