Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Ukrainian troops in the Russian region of Kursk to surrender, as diplomatic back-and-forth continues over a potential US-brokered ceasefire with Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin said Ukraine must surrender after President Donald Trump urged the Russian leader to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, following ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Russia in Moscow.

A strong Ukrainian force invaded Kursk in August, aiming to seize a swathe of Russian soil that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could eventually trade back to Russian Presi

President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin both claimed that Ukrainian forces were surrounded. Ukraine’s top military commander vowed to “hold the line.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he would spare the lives of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region if they laid down their arms.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that Ukrainian troops remaining in the Kursk region of Russia will be ruthlessly destroyed if they continue to fight.

Talks in Moscow with a U.S. special envoy indicated that Russia was keen to keep negotiating with the United States over Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he will spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk region if they surrender. His comments came as a reply to President Donald Trump’s appeal for the lives of soldiers blocked by Russian troops in Kursk region.

After clinging for more than seven months to a gradually shrinking area, Ukraine has seen its position worsen sharply in the past week.

Ukraine's military denies the encirclement of its forces in Kursk, after Trump asks Putin to spare the lives of thousands "surrounded" by Russia's military.