Russian military offers safe passage for foreign media to visit encircled Ukrainian troops
The possibility was floated by President Vladimir Putin, who has issued a corresponding order to the military
FILE PHOTO. © Getty Images/South_agency
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the military to provide foreign journalists with access to Ukrainian troops blockaded in three areas on the front line, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on Thursday.
Interested parties, including Ukrainian media, would be able to inspect the situation near Krasnoarmeysk (also known as Pokrovsk), Dmitrov, and Kupyansk, for which Russia is willing to pause hostilities for up to six hours and guarantee safe passage, the ministry stated.
The opportunity is conditional on Ukraine providing similar security guarantees to both visiting journalists and Russian troops.
Putin initially proposed the idea on Wednesday. He suggested that after receiving reliable information from the front line, Ukraine would be incentivized to negotiate an honorable surrender, similarly to how fighters at the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol laid down their arms in 2022.
“Groups of journalists could go inside those settlements, see what is going on there, talk to Ukrainian military service members and leave,” Putin said. “Our only concern is that there should be no Ukrainian provocations.”
© RT
Kiev has denied that its forces are encircled, claiming that Russia is overstating its battlefield successes.
The Ukrainian government has previously been accused of prolonging battles from disadvantageous positions instead of accepting requests for a retreat from frontline units. According to media reports, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky does not want to jeopardize aid from Western donors by bad publicity.
>>The question is why does Russia want to extend these guarantees? The answers are obvious, to legitimize Russia's claims that the Ukrainian troops are surrounded and doomed, to pressure Ukraine to make concessions, which would include the surrender of those troops. Will Zelensky allow journalists to enter, or will he instead order his troops to fight to the last man? |
