The US president said he also asked Putin to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainian troops "surrounded" by Russian military.

More than three years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained inflexible, maximalist conditions for any potential agreement that would end the war. Putin said Thursday he supports in principle the idea of a 30-day ceasefire — proposed by the United States and to which Ukraine has agreed — but noted that its implementation raises many questions,

Russia claimed to retake a key town in the area from Ukrainian forces. Ukraine’s top military commander has said that its forces would continue to “hold the line.”