Almost an hour after US President Donald Trump shared a post saying he "urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare lives", the White House clarified that US envoy Steve Witkoff spoke with Putin and not Trump. 

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The confusion began as Trump took to his Truth Social on Friday, praising his talks with the Russian president. 

Trump said, "I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared."

The US president in his post also stressed, "We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end — BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION."

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Also read: ‘Horrible, bloody war can finally end’: Trump pleads with Putin to spare Ukrainian lives

Ukraine denies claims of troops in Kursk

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As Trump in his post also said that the thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military, Ukraine officials denied the claims, reported Reuters. 

They said that the reports about Ukrainian troops being encircled in Russia’s Kursk region are false, and there is “no threat” of encirclement, as their troops were pulled back to more “favourable” positions.

Also read: 'Can't confirm this at all': Russia shrugs off claims about sidelining Trump’s Ukraine envoy from ceasefire talks

Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Putin on Thursday and reportedly left Moscow in the early hours of Friday. 

This comes as Ukraine agreed to the US-proposed 30-day ceasefire during their talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

However, Russia has not formally accepted the deal to pause fighting. 

“There will only be two options: surrender or die,” Putin said at a press conference on Thursday, adding that Ukrainian troops captured in Kursk would be treated as “terrorists.”

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Moreover, Russian and US officials will also organise a meeting between Trump and Putin after Witkoff relays the Russian president's response to a proposed ceasefire. 

“When Mr. Witkoff presents all the information to President Trump, we will determine the timing of a conversation [between Trump and Putin],” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic.” 

Also read: What’s in Trump's Ukraine ceasefire deal and why Russian President Putin rejected it?

(With inputs from agencies)