Russian President Will Spare Ukrainian Soldiers in Kursk if They Lay Down Their Arms and Surrender

posted by Sundance at CTH 

After a daring maneuver, the Russian military claim to have completely surrounded Ukraine forces in the Kursk region.  The Ukraine soldiers seemingly have been instructed to continue trying to fight on behalf of Zelenskyy.

President Trump is asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare the lives of the Ukraine troops.

[SOURCE]

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “Crooked Joe Biden got us into a real “mess” with Russia (and EVERYTHING ELSE!), but I’m going to get us out. Millions of people are needlessly dead, never to be seen again…and there will be many more to follow if we don’t get the Cease Fire and Final Agreement with Russia completed and signed. There would have been NO WAR if I were President. It just, 100%, would not have happened.”

“Likewise, there would have been no October 7th with Israel, the pullout from Afghanistan would have been done with strength and pride, and would not have been the most embarrassing day in the history of our Country, it could have been a moment of glory. Also, there would not have been any perceptible inflation – Instead we had Record Setting, Country Destroying Inflation, like we have never seen before. Also, we would have had an impenetrable Border, with very few illegals getting in. Oh, what a difference A RIGGED & CROOKED ELECTION HAD ON OUR COUNTRY, AND THE PEOPLE WHO DID THIS TO US SHOULD GO TO JAIL! GOD BLESS AMERICA AND, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”  (Source)

The Kursk Tweet appears to be for public consumption.  It certainly appears to be a strategic message, likely coordinated by both the U.S. team and Russia.

Why isn’t Volodymyr Zelenskyy the one asking for mercy?  That’s the larger, unspoken message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking directly to President Donald Trump’s request for Russia to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers surrounded in the Kursk region, President Vladimir Putin says they will be spared if they lay down their arms and surrender.

Notice how Putin draws a distinction between President Trump and President Zelenskyy.

Putin says, “we are sympathetic to President Trump’s call to be guided by humanitarian considerations,” and then Putin shifts the emphasis on the absence of this plea from bloodthirsty Zelenskyy.  “There must be an appropriate order from the military and political leadership of Ukraine to its troops to lay down their arms and surrender,” Putin said.

“We have read today’s appeal from President Trump to spare the lives of servicemen of the Ukrainian Army in the Kursk region. In this regard, please note that Ukrainian militants have committed numerous crimes against civilians. These acts, as I have already stated, are classified by us as terrorism. At the same time, we are sympathetic to President Trump’s call to be guided by humanitarian considerations regarding these servicemen. In this regard, I emphasize that if they lay down their arms and surrender, they will be guaranteed life and dignified treatment. To effectively implement President Trump’s call, there must be an appropriate order from the military and political leadership of Ukraine to its troops to lay down their arms and surrender.”  ~ President Putin

President Putin recognizes the efforts of President Trump to reframe the U.S-Russia relationship after years of untrustworthy behavior.  Finalizing with a simple, “let’s see what comes of it.”

My sense of these details is that Russian officials and U.S. officials have essentially agreed to a messaging process.  The messaging process is the shifting of global perspectives from pretenses to non-pretending realities.

President Putin putting the responsibility of surrendering in Kursk directly on the shoulders of Volodymyr Zelenskyy to save his own troops is very strategic.  President Trump doesn’t want Zelenskyy hiding behind him, and Putin is drawing Zelenskyy out.