The Kremlin said in a statement that during this call, “attention was drawn to the numerous war crimes that Ukrainian security forces and nationalists commit daily.”
Putin referred to “large-scale missile and artillery attacks on the Donbass towns” in the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine, which is partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
The Russian President stressed that “the Russian armed forces are doing everything possible to preserve the lives of civilians, especially by establishing humanitarian corridors to evacuate them safely.”
The Kremlin added that the two presidents discussed, during the phone call, “which came at a French request”, the ongoing negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, without going into further details.
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed Friday his “grave concern” about the situation in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is under bombardment, during a call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, calling for “the lifting of the siege and the arrival of humanitarian aid,” according to the Elysee.
During a telephone conversation between the Russian and French presidents that lasted for an hour and ten minutes, “(Emmanuel Macron) again called for the immediate implementation of a ceasefire” in Ukraine, according to the French presidency.
The French president raised the issue of “the deterioration of the situation, the continuation of strikes that affect civilians and the lack of respect for humanitarian law, while the negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations have so far not achieved any progress,” according to the same source.
Regarding the port city of Mariupol, he “called for concrete and verifiable measures to lift the blockade, humanitarian access and an immediate ceasefire.”
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian authorities accused the Russian Air Force of “deliberately” bombing a theater in Mariupol, where hundreds of residents had taken refuge, which Russia denied.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said “hundreds” of people were still under the rubble, while more than 130 people had been rescued.
According to an initial outcome of the Municipal Council, the bombing caused severe injuries to at least one person, but no fatalities were reported.
The Mariupol municipality also warned that the situation was “critical” as a result of the “continuous” Russian bombing and “enormous” destruction.