Russia's Medvedev says Ukrainian troops in Kursk will be 'mercilessly' destroyed if they don't surrender

FILE PHOTO: Russia's Security Council's Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev attends a meeting of the Council for Science and Education at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in the Moscow region's city of Dubna, Russia June 13, 2024. Sputnik/Alexei Maishev/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that Ukrainian troops remaining in the Kursk region of Russia will be ruthlessly destroyed if they continue to fight.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's request to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk, saying that Russia would guarantee their safety if they surrendered.

Medvedev posted on social media that this was a humane gesture but the flipside for Ukraine was that "if they refuse to lay down their arms, they will all be methodically and mercilessly destroyed".

He said the coming hours would show what choice Kyiv would make.

(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)