London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 09, 2026

Macron, Putin resume phone contact but remain far apart on Ukraine war

Macron, Putin resume phone contact but remain far apart on Ukraine war

French president urges end to ‘devastating aggression’ but Russian leader shows no sign of changing course.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday for the first time in a month but the two leaders seemed as far apart as ever on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Macron spoke frequently with Putin in the build-up to the invasion and in the weeks that followed. But the French leader had not talked to the Russian president since evidence emerged of mass killings of civilians by Russian forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, widely condemned as war crimes.

Macron re-established telephone contact with Putin following a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, the Elysée palace said in a statement on the conversation with the Russian leader.

The two sides issued vastly different readouts of the call, which the Elysée said lasted for two hours and 10 minutes. It was the 20th phone call Macron had held with Putin since last December but the first since March 29, according to the French president’s office.

In contrast to the widespread evidence of war crimes by Russian soldiers — such as the Bucha killings and the bombardment of the city of Mariupol — Putin claimed the EU was ignoring war crimes by Ukrainian forces, according to the Kremlin’s version of Tuesday’s call.

The Kremlin readout claimed Ukrainian forces were responsible for “massive shelling of cities and towns of Donbas, as a result of which civilians die,” without citing any specific location or incident. It said this could be stopped if the West put pressure on Kyiv and stopped supplying weapons to Ukrainian forces.

Macron, for his part, appealed for a cease-fire and “called on Russia to live up to its responsibilities as a permanent member of the [United Nations] Security Council by putting an end to this devastating aggression,” the Elysée said.

Macron’s office said he expressed “deep concerns concerning Mariupol and the situation in Donbas, and called on Russia to allow to continue the evacuation of the Azovstal plant which started in the past days.”

Hundreds of civilians and soldiers are reported to be still trapped inside Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks, which has been besieged by Russian forces.

Putin said Russia was evacuating civilians “in accordance with the agreement reached at a meeting between Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary-General António Guterres on April 26,” according to the Kremlin.

The French president said he remained open “to work to find a negotiated solution” to establish peace. Putin said he was “still open to dialogue” but criticized Ukrainian negotiators, accusing them of being inconsistent and unprepared for serious work.

The two leaders also discussed disruptions to food supply chains. While Macron said he wanted “to work with relevant international organizations to help lift Russia’s blockage of Ukrainian food exports through the Black Sea, given its impact on global food security,” Putin argued that Western sanctions were the main reason for those disruptions.

According to the Kremlin, the two leaders agreed to stay in touch. However, the Elysée readout made no reference to any possible future calls — something that used to be a feature of such statements from the French president’s office.
#ANT 
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France and Morocco Open World Cup Quarter-Finals as Collina Defends Refereeing
Prince Harry Suffers Major Court Defeat in Legal Battle Against Daily Mail Publisher
Bonnie Tyler, Welsh Singer Behind Total Eclipse of the Heart, Dies at 75
Barclays and PwC Report Examines Economic Opportunities from Financial Asset Tokenisation
Pound Sterling Strengthens as Investors Anticipate Further Bank of England Rate Increases
British Business Bank Invests Twenty-Seven Million Pounds in Kraken Technology Defence Expansion
UK Business Secretary Peter Kyle Backs State Investment Strategy Inspired by US Approach
UK Electricity System Issues Margin Notice as Heatwave Tightens Evening Supply Outlook
Labour Leadership Contest Opens as Andy Burnham Emerges as Expected Sole Candidate
Tech Pulse: The Future of AI and Screen Culture
Global News Briefing: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions and Corporate Shakeups
Global News Brief: Escalating Conflicts, Public Health Crises, and World Cup Drama
Rare Early Copy of US Declaration of Independence Found in British Archive
Cornish Language Revival Gains Momentum Through Schools and Community Programs
UK Authorities Face Criticism Over Prisoner Early Release Safeguards
Clacton By-Election Set After Nigel Farage Resigns Seat to Trigger Contest
Government Agencies Review Long-Term Fiscal Risks from Aging Population and Low Productivity
UK Heatwaves Expose Pressure on Public Transport and Housing Infrastructure
UK Government Prepares Welfare Review Amid Debate Over Personal Independence Payment Reform
UK Government Expands Rapid Endometriosis Testing Across NHS Services
Vistry Group Issues Profit Warning as UK Housing Market Faces Continued Pressure
Virgin Media Receives Record Twenty-Eight Million Pound Fine Over Contract Cancellation Failures
Office for Budget Responsibility Warns UK Public Finances Face Long-Term Pressure
UK Watchdog Warns Regional Income Gap Has Barely Narrowed in Three Decades
IMF Raises United Kingdom Growth Forecast as Inflation and Energy Pressures Ease
UK Government Launches Regulatory Reform Bill to Speed Up Commercialization of Innovation
Prince Harry Loses Privacy Lawsuit Against Daily Mail Publisher After High Court Rejects Claims
Federal Financial Framework Shifts as Treasury Launches Universal Savings Program for Minors
Jet2 Reports Strong Summer Travel Demand as Bookings Rise Seven Percent
Prince Harry Loses High Court Privacy Case Against Daily Mail Publisher
British Universities Warn Against Potential European Union Tuition Fee Changes
Heal Fertility Clinic Investigated After Embryo Biopsy Sample Mix-Up
Resolution Foundation Warns Regional Income Divide Has Barely Improved Since 1997
British Markets Remain Cautious as Middle East Tensions Rise and Government Transition Nears
Andy Burnham Poised to Become United Kingdom Prime Minister in Expected Political Transition
Nigel Farage Resigns as Member of Parliament Ahead of By-Election Amid Funding Investigation
Trump Declares Iran Ceasefire Over After Renewed Attacks on United States Bases
French Court Allows Le Pen to Run for Presidency, but with an Electronic Tag: "I Will Appeal, and I Will Run"
$1.4 Trillion: The Lawsuit That Could Crush Meta
Europe's Growing Struggle with Extreme Heat and Air Conditioning
UK Daily Briefing: Legal Developments and Social Issues
Political Turmoil and Rising Costs
Anthropic Reengineers Agentic Architecture to Shift Autonomous Workplace Automation to the Cloud
Logic Flaw in Windows 11 Permission Architecture Silently Consumes Hundreds of Gigabytes of Local Storage
Apple Advances Late-Stage Operating Systems with Fourth Beta Deployments
Global Crisis Alert: Escalating Middle East Tensions and UK Political Upheaval
UK Parliament Pushes for Greater Domestic Control Over Critical Technologies
UK Parliament Warns Trade Fair and Exhibition Industry Is Losing Global Competitiveness
Police Launch Murder Investigation After Mother and Two Children Found Dead Near Bedford
British Chambers of Commerce Survey Shows Business Confidence Falls to Post-Pandemic Low
×