Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron. Archive photoMOSCOW, May 17.Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, discussed with him defense assistance to Ukraine, the withdrawal of Ukrainian militants from the territory of the Azovstal plant, the possibility of exporting Ukrainian agricultural products and the prospects for the negotiation process.» He ended a long and detailed telephone conversation with Emmanuel Macron «He spoke about the course of the conflict, the operation to rescue troops from Azovstal and the vision of the prospects for the negotiation process. He raised the issue of fuel supplies to Ukraine. We also discussed defense assistance from France, the preparation of the sixth package of sanctions and possible ways to export Ukrainian agricultural products,» Zelensky wrote on Twitter. He also said that the parties discussed Ukraine's application for the status of an EU candidate. On Tuesday, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said that 265 militants, including 51 seriously wounded, had laid down their weapons at Azovstal in a day. All those in need of medical assistance were sent for treatment to the Novoazovsk hospital in the Donetsk People's Republic. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Tuesday that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were not ongoing, Kyiv had actually withdrawn from this process.
In Crimea, they announced the defeat of Zelensky due to the surrender of Azov militants into captivityRussia 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. 17.05.2022 InfographicView
