Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said that the Russian army had cut off Ukrainian units in Pokrovsk and Kupiansk from the main forces and proposed to cease hostilities so that foreign and Ukrainian reporters could assess the situation in these areas of the front line with their own eyes.
Putin made this statement during a visit to a military hospital in Moscow, according to the ASTRA Telegram channel.
Putin said he was ready to suspend hostilities for a while in the “Ukrainian Armed Forces encirclement zone” in Pokrovsk and Kupiansk while media representatives were there.
“The situation in the SVO zone is generally very good for us. Your comrades-in-arms are advancing and actively operating in all areas. In two places, as you know — in the cities of Kupiansk and Krasnoarmiysk — the enemy has been blocked and surrounded. By the way, I discussed this issue with the commanders of the relevant military group. They are not opposed to allowing representatives of the media — foreign and Ukrainian journalists — into the encirclement zone so that they can see for themselves what is happening there and ascertain the condition of the encircled Ukrainian units,” the dictator said.
According to Putin, after such a step by the Russian Federation, the political leadership of Ukraine must make an appropriate decision regarding the fate of its citizens and its military personnel — as was once done in Azovstal.
“We are ready to cease hostilities for a certain period of time, for a few hours — two, three, six hours — so that groups of journalists can enter these settlements, see what is happening there, talk to Ukrainian servicemen, and leave,” he said.
We will remind that Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the information about the encirclement of the Armed Forces units defending Pokrovsk and Kupiansk “lies.”