Russia President, Vladimir Putin has warned Ukrainian troops in Kursk to surrender or die. Putin gave the warning at a news conference on Thursday while addressing the situation in Kursk. This comes after his visit to the region on Wednesday while dressed in camouflage after Russia’s military continued its advances on the front.

The US president said he also asked Putin to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainian troops "surrounded" by Russian military.

By Steve Holland, Dmitry Antonov and Andrew Osborn WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to spare Ukrainian troops being pushed back out of Russia's Kursk region and said there was a "very good chance" the war could end.

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.

Russian forces have recaptured Sudzha, the largest town that Ukraine once occupied in the Kursk region, according to Moscow, threatening Kyiv’s sole territorial bargaining chip amid pressure to negotiate an end to the war.