President Donald Trump asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to order Moscow forces to refrain from killing Ukrainian troops who have been surrounded.

Russian troops recaptured 28 settlements in its western Kursk region in the past week and took control of the village of Noven’ke in Ukraine’s adjacent Sumy region, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.

The news came amid reports that Putin met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss details of the American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, asking him to convey Moscow’s thoughts to Washington.

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