French President Emmanuel Macron. File photoPARIS, May 9France and Germany intend to achieve an early ceasefire in Ukraine, which will allow to complete the negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow in order to achieve peace, French leader Emmanuel Macron said. we want to achieve — this is an early ceasefire that will allow to complete the ongoing negotiations between the delegations of the Russian Federation and Ukraine in order to achieve peace and a sustainable withdrawal of Russian troops. This is our goal … We want to help Ukraine negotiate on the terms which she herself will determine,» Macron said at a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, which was broadcast by the Elysee Palace on social networks. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
