Ukraine – The French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, in a telephone conversation, on Saturday, to immediately cease fire in Ukraine and begin seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict. In turn, Vladimir Putin accused the Ukrainian forces of „blatant violations” of the humanitarian law, urging France and Germany to put pressure on Kyiv to end that practice. Also on Saturday, Moscow announced that the Russian military could strike the Western arms supplies to Ukraine. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said any talks with Russia would have to start with a ceasefire and accused the West of insufficient involvement in the peace talks. In a new video, Zelensky called on the mothers of Russian soldiers to prevent their sons from being sent to war in Ukraine. Fighting continues on the ground in several cities, including the capital Kyiv, where the Russian forces continue their bombing. Ukraine accuses Russia of preparing a major assault on Kyiv, which it intends to encircle. Ukraine has announced it has lost 1,300 troops since the start of the war, and that the Russian invaders have suffered heavy losses. According to a new UN death toll, 579 civilians, including 42 children and young people, have been killed since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. (Radio Romania International)
