French President Emmanuel Macron believes that “the worst is yet to come” in Ukraine after a 90-minute telephone conversation with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who appears intent on conquering “the whole” country, an aide to the French leader said.

“Putin has once again justified his invasion with the 'denazification' of Ukraine,” said the aide, who asked not to be named.

The aide described Putin's comments as “shocking and unacceptable”, adding that “the French president told him they were lies”.

“There was nothing to reassure us about what President Putin told us. He showed great determination to continue the operation,” the presidential adviser continued.

He added that Putin “wants to take control of the whole of Ukraine. In his own words, he will carry out his operation to ‘denazify’ Ukraine.”

“You can see the extent to which these words are shocking and unacceptable, and the president told him they were lies,” the aide said.

Macron also called on Putin to avoid civilian casualties and allow humanitarian access.

“President Putin has said he is in favor, but without any commitment,” the aide said, adding that Putin had denied that the Russian military had attacked civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

Macron will again push for additional sanctions against Russia to increase the cost of the invasion, the aide said, while denying open tensions between the two.

“President Putin has a way of speaking that is very neutral and very sterile. Sometimes he shows signs of annoyance, but in general, there were no signs of tension during the exchange of views,” he said.

/BGNES

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