On Thursday evening, Macron called on Putin to “demand an immediate halt” to the Russian offensive

Emmanuel Macron called Vladimir Putin Thursday evening to demand an “immediate cessation” of the offensive in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron had a “serious and frank” phone call Thursday about Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, the Kremlin said. This is the first known phone call between the Russian president and a Western leader since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday morning.

In a statement issued after the meeting organized by the French presidency, the Kremlin said that the two leaders “exchanged a serious and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine.”

Macron calls for an “immediate cessation” of the offensive

The Kremlin added that during his conversation with Emmanuel Macron, Vladimir Putin “provided a detailed explanation of the reasons and circumstances of the decision to carry out a special military operation” in Ukraine. According to a source in the French presidency, the French president “demanded an immediate halt” to the Russian attack on Ukraine “by reminding that Russia is exposing itself to large-scale sanctions.”

Dozens were killed in bombing and clashes. The Russian operation was widely condemned by the international community and Western countries imposed economic sanctions on Moscow in response.