France’s Macron, Russia’s Putin to hold phone call over Ukraine

 President Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak for the seventh time this year in the latest diplomatic push to avert a conflict.

The phone chat between French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is expected to be the next step in efforts to ease tensions over the Ukraine crisis.


When the two leaders meet on Sunday, it will be the sixth time since the beginning of the year that they have spoken with each other.

The action comes at a time when diplomatic attempts to prevent a war in Eastern Europe are failing to make significant progress.


On Saturday, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE) recorded at least 2,000 ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine.


International observers also confirmed allegations of a civilian casualty in the Donetsk region's Marinka, which is under the control of the Ukrainian government.


Two Ukrainian troops were killed as a result of the bombardment, according to officials on Saturday.


Russian media stated that the separatist districts of Donetsk and Luhansk had reported "the most severe bombardment" by Kyiv in recent months, citing the separatists' own reports.


The pro-Russian insurgents also launched broad mobilizations in the two locations, mobilizing men to fight at the same time as they announced the mass evacuation of women and children from the two areas.

Asserting his lack of desire to attack Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin witnessed nuclear drills on Saturday including hypersonic ballistic missiles, according to the Russian media.


United States President Joe Biden, who had previously stated that he was "convinced" that Russia will invade in the coming days, is hosting a rare Sunday National Security Council meeting to discuss the problem.


Officials from the United States and the European Union have stated that they believe Moscow is seeking to create a pretext for its attack by directing proxy channels to spread misleading information about violence in rebel-held pockets.


According to the Elysee, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed in a meeting with Macron on Saturday that he would not respond to Russia's provocations.


The president also spoke out against what he called "a strategy of appeasement" toward Moscow during his speech to the Munich Security Conference.


In his words, "for eight years, Ukraine has been holding back one of the world's most powerful armies."


For Ukraine to join the US-led NATO military alliance, he urged for "defined, reasonable timelines" to be established – something that Moscow has claimed is a red line for its national security.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES


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