Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers captured in Kursk while Putin appears in military fatigues

[Social Media]

 

Russia has taken hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers into custody and has threatened to treat them as terrorists, as President Vladimir Putin appeared in military fatigues just hours after former U.S. President Donald Trump warned of devastating consequences if Moscow refused to accept a ceasefire deal. Russian officials claimed that approximately 430 Ukrainian troops were captured in the Kursk region, where Ukraine had launched a counteroffensive last summer.  

 

 

Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of general staff, informed Putin about the surrender of Ukrainian forces, stating, "The Ukrainian military, seeing futility of further resistance, started surrendering. Four hundred and thirty fighters were captured." Putin, who was visiting troops in Kursk, responded with a chilling remark, saying that the prisoners should be "treated as terrorists, in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation."  

 

This development follows Trump’s stern warning to Russia, in which he asserted that if Putin did not agree to a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine, there would be severe financial consequences. Discussing his administration’s efforts to bring an end to the war, Trump suggested that economic measures could be used as leverage against Russia. "There are things that wouldn't be pleasant in a financial sense. I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do that because I want to get peace," he said.  

 

Putin’s response to a ceasefire offer: don military fatigues, head to embattled Kursk region and announce Russia will keep fighting till Ukraine is ousted from its land. Pretty clear message about what he thinks of Zelensky’s overture

Putin’s response to a ceasefire offer: don military fatigues, head to embattled Kursk region and announce Russia will keep fighting till Ukraine is ousted from its land.

Pretty clear message about what he thinks of Zelensky’s overture pic.twitter.com/OOOx5Cg3Mu

— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) March 12, 2025

 

Trump continued, emphasizing the gravity of the situation. "In a financial sense, yes, we could do things that would be very bad for Russia, that would be devastating for Russia. But I don't want to do that." Despite the ultimatum, Moscow has remained silent on the proposed ceasefire agreement, stating that they will not respond until U.S. envoys formally present it in person. Trump confirmed that negotiators were en route to the Russian capital, though he refrained from disclosing additional details.  

 

Later, the White House clarified that special envoy Steve Witkoff was scheduled to travel to Moscow later in the week. Additionally, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz had recently held discussions with his Russian counterpart. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt urged Russia to accept the proposal, stating, "We urge the Russians to sign on to this plan."  

 

Leavitt underscored the importance of the ceasefire, likening the situation to the final stages of an American football game. "We are at the 10th yard line, and the president expects the Russians to help us run this into the end zone," she said. Trump reiterated his determination, telling reporters during a meeting with the Irish prime minister, "People are going to Russia right now as we speak. And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia."

 

Based on a report by Daily Mail  2025-03-13

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TedG]

Quote

Russia has taken hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers into custody and has threatened to treat them as terrorists

 

Putin considers an invasion of a foreign country terrorism.  Weird. 

[RuamRudy]

That feeble old man prancing around in badly made, too big for him fatigues is surely the most pathetic thing must of us will see today.

 

The rest of the world needs to put an immediate stop to the Putin regime, with emphasis on ensuring that he and his cronies can never rise from the ashes of their own making ever again. 

[Cryingdick]

It's like the battle of the cosplay.

[JAG]

1) Doesn't he have a suit?

 

2) Shades of the "Kommandobefehl" of 1942. That ended well for Wilhelm Keitel, Alfred Jodl and several others 

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, RuamRudy said:

That feeble old man prancing around in badly made, too big for him fatigues is surely the most pathetic thing must of us will see today.

 

The rest of the world needs to put an immediate stop to the Putin regime, with emphasis on ensuring that he and his cronies can never rise from the ashes of their own making ever again. 

I can remember when you wrote posts that had a point and were not just endless repetition of Putin bad, Putin bad. Perhaps when Ukrainian war is done and dusted I'll take you off my ignore list. For now, bye.

[thaibeachlovers]

33 minutes ago, JAG said:

1) Doesn't he have a suit?

 

2) Shades of the "Kommandobefehl" of 1942. That ended well for Wilhelm Keitel, Alfred Jodl and several others 

It's a suitable outfit for a comedian pretending to be a tough guy president.

[hotsun]

Putin kind of looks like the white skinned version of prayut now

[Jingthing]

Putin (looking ridiculous) seems to be saying the POWS will be murdered. Nothing new coming from his military. I suppose Putin won't even entertain any kind of "negotiation" before he can end Ukraine's bargaining chip in Kursk. 

[0ffshore360]

It seems that Putin is not exactly ready to accommodate Trump's idealism.

No surprise given the carrot on the stick comes with a threatening note !

No art . No deal !

[0ffshore360]

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Putin (looking ridiculous) seems to be saying the POWS will be murdered. Nothing new coming from his military. I suppose Putin won't even entertain any kind of "negotiation" before he can end Ukraine's bargaining chip in Kursk. 

Sadly for Zelensky the bargaining chip has lost most value already. Can only be hoped Putin does Not increase stakes in the game by eliminating the POWs.

[Jingthing]

8 minutes ago, 0ffshore360 said:

Sadly for Zelensky the bargaining chip has lost most value already. Can only be hoped Putin does Not increase stakes in the game by eliminating the POWs.

Anyway, nobody with any credibility actually believes Putin actually wants the proposed cease fire or a potential later real long term peace respecting Ukraine as a sovereign nation. His goal remains the same -- total control of all of Ukraine (with a puppet government possibly even better for him) and beyond. Any BS that Putin would be happy with a "neutral" Ukraine is pure cloud cuckoo land stuff. Think what Putin gets controlling Ukraine. The best drone program in the world. The best army in Europe. The chance to murder all opposition. Flooding Europe with millions more refugees destabilizing Europe to an extreme degree. 

[connda]

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

Russia has taken hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers into custody and has threatened to treat them as terrorists, as President Vladimir Putin appeared in military fatigues just hours after former U.S. President Donald Trump warned of devastating consequences if Moscow refused to accept a ceasefire deal.

It's one thing for the US to to pull out the Ledeen Doctrine and threaten "cr*ppy little countries" and then "throw them against the wall," ala Vietnam, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, etc.  It's another entirely to pull the same stunt on another nuclear superpower. 
"Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business."
Michael Ledeen, the infamous "Ledeen Doctrine"

As Trump so amply stated to Zelenky, Ukraine doesn't have the cards, and neither does the US. But Trump can and does bluff with maximum bravado. Of course, the US holds three Aces in modern weapons, the ability to send a ton of debt-fueled money to Ukraine, and a bevy of toothless sanctions, just like the previous administration.  And just like the previous administration, the Russia ground-forces will just keep grinding the Ukrainian military down in a war of attrition and move Westward to the Dnieper River while pushing Ukrainian troops out of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Kursk.

And then the bravado!
Trump: "You WILL accept the ceasefire..." (so Ukraine can rest, retrench, and rearm - Russia has seen the movie before multiple times and has said so out loud, it won't work again)
Putin: "...or else what?" 

 

This "Peace Through Strength" nonsense doesn't work on peer super-powers.  It just creates the conditions for escalation.  Trump is now threatening Russia, China, and Iran if they don't do as he tells them to do like good little vassals. What did that accomplish?  You now have the Russian, Chinese, and Iranian militaries conducting exercises together as well as forging alliances.  Grand plan! 

Threats and bravado aren't going to work for the US any longer.  Those days are gone. If Trump stops the support for Ukraine, the war ends, and Donald J Trump becomes the "Man Who Ended The Ukraine War" and gets a Nobel Prize nomination.  But keep up the threats and this simply doesn't end, and Russia grinds its way Westward until it carves out a buffer zone large enough to protect its own territory from NATO and the rather insane Russia-hating European elites who would love nothing better than marching on Moscow for a third time.  Ask Napoleon and Adolf how that worked out for them?

[connda]

31 minutes ago, 0ffshore360 said:

Sadly for Zelensky the bargaining chip has lost most value already. Can only be hoped Putin does Not increase stakes in the game by eliminating the POWs.

Ukrainian POW will most likely be treated as POWs, well, if Russia chooses to take prisoners.  Foreign fighters in the ranks of the Ukrainian forces will most likely be shot on the spot as a warning to any other Soldiers of Fortune.