14 Mar, 2025 20:43

Ukrainian military contradicts Trump on Kursk Region ‘encirclement’

Kiev has claimed the report is false and part of Moscow’s “manipulation”

The Ukrainian General Staff has denied that Kiev’s troops have been encircled in Russia’s border region of Kursk. The statement was issued after US President Donald Trump urged Moscow to spare the “thousands” of Ukrainian soldiers trapped in the area.

All the reports about the encirclement “are false and fabricated by the Russians for political manipulation,” the General Staff said in a statement on Telegram on Friday,adding that it was done to “exert pressure” on Kiev and its Western backers. The statement never mentioned Trump or the US by name.

According to the Ukrainian military, Kiev’s forces are continuing to fight in the region following a regrouping.

Earlier on Friday, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that “thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military and in a very bad and vulnerable position.” He called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare the lives of the trapped soldiers.

Putin responded to Trump’s request by stating that Russia was willing to do that even despite the “numerous crimes” committed by the Ukrainian forces against local civilians.He called on Kiev to order its troops in the area to surrender, promising their lives would be preserved and they would be given dignified treatment if they lay down their arms.

Trump’s statement came following a visit by US special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow, where he was expected to deliver the details of a 30-day truce initiative to the Russian side. A day before the meeting, Putin visited Kursk Region, where he was briefed about the situation on the ground by the head of the Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov.

As of Wednesday evening, Russian forces had liberated 86% of the territory that was occupied by the Ukrainians in August 2024, according to the general. The remaining Ukrainian units in the area were largely “encircled” and “isolated,” he explained.

Kiev launched a major offensive into the Kursk area in early August 2024, capturing the town of Sudzha and dozens of villages. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said the incursion was aimed at gaining leverage for future peace talks. The Ukrainian advance was quickly halted by the Russian military, which has been gradually reclaiming ground ever since.

(I truly hope that Trump has laid a trap for Ukraine and aware that Russia may want the US involved. Trump’s team seems like they are getting tiny movement. Ukraine will never stop the war, they just won’t. Russia knows this. Perhaps Trump should just let them keep going, if they don’t care about their people, we can’t force them. In addition Putin and Russia would like to trap Trump Admin stuck on that swamp.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/614247-ukrainian-military-contradict-trump-kursk/

14 Mar, 2025 17:55

NATO countries should restore ties with Russia – bloc chief

It would be “normal” for relations to be resumed once the Ukraine conflict is over, Mark Rutte has suggested

Europe and the United States should gradually normalize relations with Russia once the Ukraine conflict is over, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said.

The statement comes a day after the head of the US-led military bloc met President Donald Trump at the White House and amid ongoing efforts by Washington to establish a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev.

Trump has also expressed interest in restoring economic ties with Russia, an idea that was supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV on Friday,Rutte recalled that he had “many dealings” and “many negotiations” with Putin while prime minister of the Netherlands.

“Long-term, Russia is there, Russia will not go away,” he said.“It’s normal if the war would have stopped for Europe somehow, step by step, and also for the US, step by step, to restore normal relations with Russia,”he argued. (that sounds stupid to me)

Ukraine’s possible membership of the bloc is off the table in the current peace process, Rutte confirmed, a point Moscow has insisted upon.

Most EU leaders, with the notable exceptions of Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, have advocated for continued confrontation with Russia, despite the ongoing peace process.

European NATO countries have been supplying weapons to Kiev since the escalation of the conflict in 2022. Some bloc members, such as France, have floated the idea of deploying troops in Ukraine to monitor a truce.

Russia has denounced the idea and insisted that any NATO contingent in Ukraine deployed without a UN mandate will be considered a legitimate target.

Moscow has accused the EU of militarizing against Russia, after the bloc’s leaders backed €800 billion ($860 bn) in debt and tax-breaks for its military industrial complex.

As NATO’s biggest financial contributor, Trump has consistently criticized the bloc’s European members for not meeting the defense expenditure targets.

NATO has maintained a hostile position towards Moscow since Crimea joined the Russian Federation in 2014 and the subsequent escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The developments led to the suspension of practical cooperation and a significant military buildup in NATO countries on Russia’s borders.

(Rutte is the fucker that started the gossip and lies that Russia would attack Europe in a couple of years and we’ve got to beef up with NATO, when he said it, that statement took on fire, and warmongering. The problem is Europe will never be a dominant military power, NOR will any of them agree on a strategy. The US should just withdraw from the constant Fear mongering soap opera in Europe on every front.Let’s just say, Namaste and walk away and let them know we are permanently breaking up because they are all nuts.)

https://www.rt.com/news/614242-nato-russia-relations-rutte/