France’s Macron says dialogue with Putin stalled after mass killings discovered in Ukraine

“Since the massacres, we have discovered in Bucha and in other towns, the war has taken a different turn, so I did not speak to him again directly since, but I don’t rule out doing so in the future”, Macron told France 5 television.

Russia has called the accusations its forces executed civilians in Bucha while occupying the town a “monstrous forgery” aimed at denigrating the Russian army.

Asked why he had not followed the example of other European leaders and travelled to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Macron said that a show of support by itself was not needed after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

“I will go back to Kyiv, but I will go there to bring something useful with me… because it’s obvious that I don’t need to travel there to show this support,” Macron said, adding that he had spoken around 40 times since the start of the war to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

“If I go to Kyiv, it will be to make a difference,” he said.

The Kremlin says it launched a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “liberate” Ukraine from nationalist extremists. Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.