Putin did not show any willingness to end the war in Ukraine, Macron's office says
The call came amid reports that the eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha has been completely destroyed following the Russian invasion but fighting continues for territory there to prevent a Russian encirclement, Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Saturday
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not show a willingness to end a war with Ukraine during a call on Saturday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a French presidency official said.
The French and German leaders reiterated their call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine as a condition for full negotiations, the official said, reports BBC.
The call came amid reports that the eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha has been completely destroyed following the Russian invasion but fighting continues for territory there to prevent a Russian encirclement, Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Saturday.
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A true picture of the economic damage caused is also emerging, with most Ukrainian businesses having stopped operating since Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy's economic adviser previously estimated that the Russian invasion had already caused more than $100 billion of damage.
Zelenskiy also said around 1,300 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of the Russian invasion.
Speaking at a news briefing, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams had started discussing concrete topics rather than exchanging ultimatums.
He said the West should be more involved in negotiations to end the war but welcomed efforts by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, and said he had suggested to Bennett holding talks in Jerusalem.
