MOSCOW 

President Vladimir Putin claimed on Wednesday that Russian forces have surrounded Ukrainian troops near the cities of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk, in the Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts, respectively, and offered a ceasefire to allow journalists to observe the situation.

The "overall situation" in the combat zone is developing "favorably" for Russia, Putin said at Moscow's Mandryka Hospital, where he went to see and inquire about the health of wounded soldiers.

"Your comrades-in-arms are moving forward and acting actively in all areas. As you know, this has already been publicly stated in two places: in the city of Kupiansk and the city of Krasnoarmeysk (the Russian name for Pokrovsk), the enemy was blocked and surrounded," he told the servicemen.

Putin also announced that the Russian armed forces are prepared to implement a temporary ceasefire to allow a group of journalists to enter these areas, observe the situation, speak with Ukrainian servicemen, and depart safely.

"We are only concerned about one thing—that there should be no provocations from the Ukrainian side. The main thing is to avoid provocations from the Ukrainian side so that some drone does not fly there and so that one of these journalists does not get hurt, and then they would try to blame us," he said.

Putin stressed that implementing the initiative requires consent from the Ukrainian side.