Vladimir Putin has suggested that the West should help end the conflict in Ukraine by increasing pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky and blocking arms delivery to his soldiers.

Mr. Putin was talking with French President Emmanuel Macron over the phone for the first time in over a month.

The French president reiterated his appeal for a cease-fire and dialogue to end the war sparked by Russia’s intervention.

He requested that Mr. Putin allow for more evacuations in Mariupol.

Hundreds of civilians are feared to be trapped in the debris of a steelworks held by Ukrainian forces in the city, which has seen some of the worst combat of the war.

Ukraine has been heavily armed by the West in its conflict with Russia, and the UK said on Tuesday that it would provide an additional $376 million in military equipment, including electronic warfare equipment, a radar system, GPS jammers, and night-vision devices.

Since the invasion on February 24, tens of thousands of people, both combatants and civilians, have been killed or injured, and more than 5.5 million people have fled to other countries as refugees.

Russian forces have withdrawn from the Kyiv region in order to concentrate their efforts on eastern Ukraine.

According to a Kremlin statement, Mr. Putin accused Ukrainian forces of committing war crimes by shelling towns in eastern Ukraine where Moscow-backed separatists control substantial regions, and demanded a halt to military supply.

Since the invasion began, there have been a number of attacks on residential areas in separatist-controlled areas, but nothing on the scale of Russian forces hitting government-held towns. Ukraine claims that it is not shelling residential areas.

Atrocities have been accused of being committed by Russian forces, including in Bucha, a town outside of Kyiv.

The Russian president stated that Russia is willing to talk to Ukraine.

Mr. Macron, according to a statement released by the Élysée Palace, called on Mr. Putin to cease Russia’s “war of aggression” and said he was willing to assist in reaching a diplomatic settlement that respected Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the French president, who was re-elected last month, has spoken with Mr. Putin multiple times.

He stated that he was willing to engage with “competent international institutions” to assist Ukraine in lifting Russia’s embargo of its Black Sea ports so that food exports could restart.

Image Credit: Getty

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