President Donald Trump's repeated assertion that Ukrainian soldiers are in grave danger as they're "surrounded by Russian forces" was quickly smacked down on social media by a reporter in Kyiv.
Speaking from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, Trump told reporters he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to "save some soldiers who are in deep trouble."
"They're captured, essentially. They're surrounded by Russian soldiers," he said in footage posted on social media. "It's a big deal. They're surrounded by Russian soldiers and I believe if it wasn't for me they would be — they wouldn't be here any longer. I was able to get them not to do anything at this moment. But it's a bad situation in Russia. And it's a bad situation in Ukraine. What's happening in Ukraine is not good, but we're going to see if we can work a peace agreement. A ceasefire and peace."
Trump's remarks doubled down on his Truth Social post Friday in which he insisted, “At this very moment, thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military, and in a very bad and vulnerable position." Trump said he asked Putin to let the soldiers live and avert “a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II.”
But Christopher Miller chief correspondent in Kyiv for the Financial Times, swatted away any such notion on Monday evening.
"This is completely false and Kremlin talking point," he wrote on X. "I have been in contact with Ukrainian soldiers involved in the Kursk region fight since it began in August. Ukrainian forces there are not, as Trump claims, 'captured essentially… surrounded by Russian soldiers.' There is a slow retreat in progress and key roads under fire. It is at times chaotic, as is the situation in battles when dynamics shift. There is no encirclement."
Experts have also cast doubt on Trump's assertion. The Institute for the Study of War said Friday it “observed no geolocated evidence to indicate that Russian forces have encircled a significant number of Ukrainian forces” in Kursk or elsewhere on Ukraine's front line, CNN reported.
Additionally, Ukraine’s military accused Russia of lying to manipulate the public's perception.
“Reports of the alleged ‘encirclement’ of Ukrainian units by the enemy in the Kursk region are false and fabricated by the Russians for political manipulation and to exert pressure on Ukraine and its partners,” the military said, according to the report.
“There is no threat of encirclement of our units,” it added.
Watch the clip below or at this link.
🇺🇸🤦 "Tomorrow, I will speak with President Putin to save Ukrainian soldiers who are in a very difficult situation. They are surrounded by Russian forces. If it weren’t for me, they’d be gone already. I managed to convince them to hold off for now." pic.twitter.com/3l3kh4Wsa2
— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) March 17, 2025