In light of Russia's ongoing military operation in Ukraine, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has stated that an open line of contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin is "absolutely necessary."

Le Drian spoke on France 2 television on Sunday, expressing that  "we are not at war against Russia, we are in solidarity with the Ukrainians."

The Russian military forces declared a ceasefire today beginning at 10:00 a.m. (07:00 GMT).

The ceasefire would allow for inhabitants of Ukraine's Kiev, Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Sumy to evacuate the city, according to the interdepartmental coordination center for humanitarian assistance in Ukraine on Monday.

In a phone call with Macron, Putin put the blame on Kiev for failed evacuation attempts from the 10th largest city in Ukraine, Mariupol, which is currently surrounded by Russian troops. 

The Russian President drew attention to the fact that Kiev is not fulfilling its agreements regarding the critical humanitarian issue, notably after two signed agreements to evacuate Mariupol fell amid reports that Ukraine has been breaching ceasefire agreements.

I spoke with President Putin and then with President Zelensky. We are striving to preserve the integrity of Ukraine's civilian nuclear plants, in addition to other priority demands we presented to Russia: a ceasefire and the protection of civilians.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 6, 2022

Ukrainian nationalists, according to Putin, prevented civilians and foreign citizens from leaving Mariupol and Volnovakha on Saturday despite the ceasefire agreements.

Russia called on NATO and European Union member states to stop providing weapons and lethal arms to Kiev.

The reason behind the call, as cited by the Russian foreign ministry on Saturday, is the fact that the arms supplies to Ukraine pose a threat to civilian aviation in the region.