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UKRAINE

 France’s Macron and Germany’s Scholz urge Putin to end siege of Mariupol: France

France and Germany urged Russia's Vladimir Putin Saturday to end the deadly days-long siege of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, the French presidency said after three-way talks.

French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz shake hands at the Palace of Versailles
France's President Emmanuel Macron greets Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, on March 10th, 2022, prior to the EU leaders summit to discuss the fallout of Russia's invasion in Ukraine. Ludovic MARIN / AFP

“The situation is very difficult and humanly intolerable” in Mariupol, a source in the Elysee presidential palace said, after what it termed a “very frank and difficult discussion” with the Russian leader.

“The only decision President Putin must take is to lift the siege.”

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office also accused Putin of “lies” for alleging that Ukrainian forces had committed human rights abuses by using civilians as human shields.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier slammed what he said was the “flagrant violation” of international humanitarian law by Ukraine’s forces as he held phone talks with the leaders
of France and Germany, the Kremlin said.

The 75-minute three-way phone call with Macron, the Russian leader and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz focussed on France and Germany’s call for an immediate ceasefire and steps towards a diplomatic solution, sources in the French and German leaders’ offices said.

Macron told Putin “the Russian army’s abuses must cease”, the source said, warning that its actions could qualify as war crimes.

They said the two leaders spoke separately before the call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who asked them to call on Putin to halt the fighting.

Russian forces are closing in on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and bombarding several other cities. The offensive has driven millions of Ukrainians from their homes.

Zelensky also asked the leaders to help secure the release of the mayor of the city of Melitpol, who he said has been abducted by Russian forces.

“We are putting on maximum pressure and we will not let up,” the French presidency said.

Macron demanded “very strongly that the conflict cease as quickly as possible in order to avoid the worst, including (Russia) resorting to illicit weapons or destroying cities”, it added.

US President Joe Biden on Friday vowed that Russia would pay a “severe price” if it used chemical weapons in Ukraine.

Macron has taken a leading role in trying to engage with Putin over Russia’s offensive.

The Elysee says he has had nine conversations with the Russian leader since meeting him at the Kremlin on February 7th. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th.

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UKRAINE

France charges two Moldovans over coffin graffiti in Paris

French prosecutors on Saturday charged two Moldovans suspected of painting coffins and a slogan urging an end to Ukraine war on the facade of a prominent Paris newspaper, a judicial source said.

France charges two Moldovans over coffin graffiti in Paris

It was just the latest in a series of such acts in the capital in recent weeks. French officials have repeatedly warned of the risks of disinformation and other attacks by Russia over France’s support for Kyiv.

Tension between Paris and Moscow has increased since President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this year he had not ruled out sending troops to Ukraine.

The two men, who carried Moldovan passports, were arrested overnight Thursday-Friday after six red coffins and the phrase “Stop the Death, Mriya, Ukraine” were painted on the building of right-wing daily Le Figaro. Mriya means “dream” in Ukrainian.

They are being held on charges of destruction of property and participating in “an effort to demoralise the army to harm national defence in peacetime”, the source said.

Six similar coffins were found early Thursday on the facade of the Agence France-Presse headquarters in central Paris, not far from the Figaro offices.

A source close to the case said the two Moldovans claimed to have been paid around €100 to paint the graffiti.

A separate investigations has been opened after graffiti showing French Mirage fighter jets in the form of coffins were found last Tuesday in three districts of Paris. They included the phrase “Mirages for Ukraine”.

Similar graffiti was discovered on the walls of the AFP building Monday.

Macron announced in early June that France would send Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine and train their Ukrainian pilots as part of a new military cooperation with Kyiv.

On June 8, French police said they were holding three young Moldovans suspected of being behind inscriptions of coffins in Paris with the slogan “French soldiers in Ukraine”.

They were later charged with property damage and released.

Moldova’s Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi posted on X, formerly Twitter: “We regret and firmly condemn the incident”.

He said the “vandalism” was “part of hybrid tactics to harm our international image”.

Popsoi reiterated his comment on Saturday, denouncing an “instigation to hate”.

“We call on Moldovan citizens to be vigilant and not to allow themselves to be manipulated to the detriment of our country.”

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