Appeal by French president comes as Russian bombardment ends second attempt to evacuate Mariupol
Emmanuel Macron implored Vladimir Putin to let civilians flee Ukraine’s besieged cities during a marathon call of nearly two hours as a second attempt to evacuate the port city of Mariupol ended under Russia bombardment.
The appeal from Paris was echoed in a separate call between Putin and Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, spoke directly to Russian citizens in a video address beseeching them to not “keep silent” amid the bloodshed.