Trump Urges Putin to Spare Ukrainian Troops in Kursk

 In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, March 14, 2025, Russian soldiers patrol an area in the Kursk region of Russia after it was taken over by Russian troops. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, March 14, 2025, Russian soldiers patrol an area in the Kursk region of Russia after it was taken over by Russian troops. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
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Trump Urges Putin to Spare Ukrainian Troops in Kursk

 In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, March 14, 2025, Russian soldiers patrol an area in the Kursk region of Russia after it was taken over by Russian troops. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, March 14, 2025, Russian soldiers patrol an area in the Kursk region of Russia after it was taken over by Russian troops. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

US President Donald Trump urged Russia's 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.

Trump posted on social media after his envoy, Steve Witkoff, held a lengthy meeting with Putin on Thursday night in Moscow that Trump described as "very good and productive".

"There is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end," he said.

The US president said thousands of Ukrainian troops were "completely surrounded" by the Russian military and "in a very bad and vulnerable position".

"I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all!!!"

Military analysts have said Ukrainian forces in Kursk are nearly cut off after rapidly losing ground in what had been their only foothold in Russian territory.

Putin said on Friday that Russia will guarantee the safety of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region if they surrender.

Kyiv's military, however, said there was no threat of encirclement, and that its troops were pulling back to better positions.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at a G7 meeting in La Malbaie, Canada, said Witkoff is returning to the United States and there may be discussions about Ukraine over the weekend.

"But we certainly feel like we're at least some steps closer to ending this war and bringing peace. But it's still a long journey," he told reporters.

Moscow said on Friday that its forces had recaptured another village in their drive to dislodge Ukrainian forces from their last remaining footholds inside Russia's Kursk region.

The Kremlin said Putin had sent Trump a message about his ceasefire plan via Witkoff, expressing "cautious optimism" that a deal could be reached to end the three-year-old conflict. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump himself had not spoken to Putin yet.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who met Trump on Thursday, told Fox News that Trump's drive to get Russia to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers was "extremely helpful and extremely important."

The Trump administration launched its latest round of outreach to Moscow this week after Ukraine agreed in principle to a ceasefire at talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia.

TRUMP URGES PUTIN TO SIGN CEASEFIRE DEAL WITH UKRAINE

On Friday, Trump again pressed Russia to sign and complete "a Cease Fire and Final Agreement", saying on his private social media platform that he would extract the US from what he called a "real 'mess' with Russia".

Putin said on Thursday that he supported Trump's proposal in principle, but that fighting could not be paused until several crucial conditions were worked out, raising the prospect of longer negotiations.

Despite Putin's apparent conditions, Trump called Putin's statement "very promising".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Putin - who has expressed concern that Ukraine would exploit any truce to regroup - had used the late-night meeting with Witkoff to convey information and "signals" to Trump.

"There are certainly reasons to be cautiously optimistic," Peskov said. "(Putin) said that he supports President Trump's position in terms of a settlement, but he voiced some questions that need to be answered together".

Peskov said the timing of a phone call between the presidents would be worked out once Witkoff had briefed Trump.

Putin has said he wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO, Russia to control the entirety of the four Ukrainian regions it has claimed as its own, and the size of the Ukrainian army to be limited.

He has also made clear he wants Western sanctions eased and a presidential election to be held in Ukraine, which Kyiv says is premature while martial law remains in force.

Peskov played down reports suggesting Russian officials had told US counterparts they did not want Trump's Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg to be involved in top-level discussions on the war. He said Moscow had no intention of meddling.



Netanyahu’s Move to Fire Security Agency Chief Threatens New Crisis in Israel

Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
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Netanyahu’s Move to Fire Security Agency Chief Threatens New Crisis in Israel

Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bid to dismiss a top security official has threatened to plunge Israel back into deep political crisis, with opponents on Monday organizing protests and a former court president warning against the "dangerous" move.

Netanyahu on Sunday cited an "ongoing lack of trust" as the reason for moving to sack Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, following a similar bid by the government to oust the attorney general.

Bar, who has been engaged in a public spat with Netanyahu in recent weeks over reforms to the agency, suggested there were political motives behind the premier's decision to ask the government to dismiss him.

Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara -- the executive's top legal adviser who has often taken positions that clashed with those of Netanyahu's government -- said the move was "unprecedented" and its legality needed to be assessed.

Bar said it stemmed from his own refusal to meet Netanyahu's demands for "personal loyalty".

The agency led by Bar has been accused of failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered war in the Gaza Strip.

Several opposition parties have already announced they will jointly petition the High Court against Bar's dismissal, and the attorney general said in a letter to Netanyahu that he could not initiate the process "until the factual and legal foundation of your decision is fully clarified".

Baharav Miara is herself under threat of a no-confidence motion submitted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has spearheaded efforts to reform the judiciary and curb the court's powers -- a plan that sparked major protests before coming to an abrupt halt with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

Levin has accused Baharav Miara, a fierce defendant of the judiciary's independence, of "inappropriate conduct" and cited "significant and prolonged disagreements between the government and the attorney general".

The proceeding against the two figures promise to be lengthy, risking a repeat of the 2023 protest movement that was one of the most significant in Israel's history and had deeply fractured the country.

- 'Blow to national security' -

The Kaplan Force, a liberal umbrella organization which led the fight against the judicial reform, on Monday announced rallies in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv this week to protest the dismissal of the Shin Bet head.

The move to sack Bar, who has been involved in negotiations over the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, comes at a crucial time for the talks.

The truce has largely held since January 19 despite an impasse in efforts to extend it.

Since the Gaza war began, Netanyahu has dismissed his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, while several senior military officials have resigned including army chief Herzi Halevi.

Benny Gantz, an opposition figure who once served as defense minister under Netanyahu, said on X that "the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet is a direct blow to national security and a dismantling of unity within Israeli society, driven by political and personal considerations."

Former Supreme Court president Dorit Beinisch told Kan public radio that Netanyahu was leading "processes that are dangerous for society".

"We need to wake up, and to wake up in time," she said.

- 'Power-grab' -

For Netanyahu's allies, the move against Bar falls within the normal rights of the head of government.

"In what normal country is a special reason even needed to remove the head of an intelligence organization who is personally responsible for a massive intelligence failure that led to the greatest disaster in the history of Israel?" far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on Telegram.

Nahum Barnea, columnist for the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, warned of the dangers stemming from the clash between Netanyahu and Bar.

"A prime minister who has lost his brakes will rule as he sees fit, and his failed government will follow in his wake," he wrote.

"It is gradually inching us closer to a form of civil war... in which there is no trust and a refusal to obey in security organizations".

For Amir Tibon, writing for the left-wing daily Haaretz, "Israeli democracy is now in grave danger".

"It's up to Israelis to decide if they'll accept Netanyahu's hostile power-grab -- and how far they will go to stop it".