Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday told French leader Emmanuel Macron that he did not intend to attack Ukrainian nuclear sites.
Mr Macron last week expressed alarm over nuclear security risks in Ukraine after Europe's largest atomic power plant, Zaporizhzhia, was attacked and seized by invading Russian forces.
"President Putin has said that it was not his intention to carry out attacks on these power stations," a French official said.
He said Mr Putin claimed he was prepared to meet UN atomic agency standards for nuclear plant protection.
Mr Putin also said Moscow planned to achieve its aims in Ukraine "through negotiation or through war", the Elysee Palace said.
Mr Macron found Mr Putin "very determined to achieve his objectives", including on "what the Russian president calls the 'de-Nazification' and the 'neutralisation' of Ukraine", the official said.
Mr Putin demanded recognition of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, as part of Russian territory.
He also called for recognition of independence for two eastern Ukrainian breakaway regions already officially recognised by Moscow.
These demands are "unacceptable for the Ukrainians", the official said.
Mr Putin denied the Russian army is aiming at civilians after Mr Macron urged him not to endanger people, in line with international law.
Mr Macron said he had "no reason to believe that the Ukrainian army is putting civilians in danger", the official said.
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Cars are left abandoned on a road as residents flee the town of Irpin, Ukraine after days of heavy shelling. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier helps a family fleeing from Irpin. Reuters -
A bus passes the Duke of Wellington statue, which has a traffic cone in the colours of the flag of Ukraine placed on top of it, in Glasgow, Scotland. AP -
Ukrainian children sleep at the reception point at the train station in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters -
Smoke rises as a Ukrainian soldier stands by the only escape route used by locals to flee from the town of Irpin. Reuters -
A man flees from Irpin. Reuters -
A screengrab from footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows a purported Russian tank unit advancement in the Kyiv region. AFP -
People walk on debris of residential buildings damaged by shelling in the Zhytomyr region. Reuters -
A damaged residential building after Russian multiple rocket launchers shelled the area in the southern city of Mykolaiv. AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers sit in their armoured vehicle after fighting against Russian troops and Russia-backed separatists near Zolote village, Luhansk region. AFP -
A woman offers accommodation for people fleeing Ukraine at the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. Getty Images -
A soldier holds a helmet as a wedding crown during the ceremony for members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov, at a checkpoint in Kyiv. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers carry a woman fleeing the town of Irpin. AP -
A factory and warehouse burn after being bombarded in Irpin. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers near Zolote. AFP -
A Ukrainian refugee boy, wearing a blanket on his shoulders, warms his hands with a gas heater shortly after crossing the Siret border into northern Romania. EPA -
People demonstrate against the Russian military operation in Ukraine in Buenos Aires, Argentina. EPA -
First responders work at the scene after a missile hit a building at Havryshivka Vinnytsia International Airport in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Reuters -
A woman at a checkpoint on the road to Kyiv after her evacuation from a nearby town. AFP -
A placard in the Ukrainian colours is held up at an anti-war demonstration the Bebelplatz square in Berlin, Germany. Reuters -
A Ukrainian serviceman helps an elderly woman in Irpin, 20 kilometres north-west of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo -
Protesters cry during a demonstration in support of Ukraine at the Plaza Catalunya square in Barcelona. AFP -
A man walks past a machine gun at a checkpoint next to the last bridge on the road that connects the town of Stoyanka to the outskirts of Ukraine's capital Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian servicemen put a wounded man on a stretcher in Irpin. AP Photo -
People board a train to return to Ukraine after getting supplies in Zahony, Hungary. AP Photo -
Balloons in the colors of Ukraine during a demonstration against the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Mainz, Germany. AP -
A Ukrainian girl helps to weave a camouflage net for the Ukrainian army, in Odesa. EPA -
Molotov cocktails prepared by a group of volunteers in Odesa. Hundreds are made every day. EPA -
Ukrainian servicemen assist people fleeing the town of Irpin after crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian air strike. AP Photo -
A woman holds a dog while crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike, while assisting people fleeing the town of Irpin, Ukraine. AP Photo -
Marina Yatsko and her boyfriend Fedor comfort each other at a hospital in Mariupol after her 18-month-old son Kirill was killed by shelling. AP Photo -
Ukrainian civilians receive weapons training in a cinema in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP Photo -
Residents flee the town of Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo -
Ukrainian soldiers carry a sick woman as civilians flee Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, after Russian attacks. AP Photo -
Captured Russian soldiers at a press conference in the Interfax news agency in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo -
Ukrainians beneath a destroyed bridge in Irpin. AP Photo -
A woman fleeing Ukraine on a bus near the border crossing in Korczowa, Poland. AP Photo -
A Ukrainian soldier and a militia man help a fleeing family on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 5, 2022. AP Photo -
Smoke rises after shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo -
People at a hospital during shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo -
Displaced Ukrainians at the Resurrection New Athos Monastery in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. AFP
Mr Macron also told Mr Putin of his concerns about a possible attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa, the Elysee said.
The call, which a presidential official said lasted one hour and 45 minutes and was at Mr Macron's request, was the fourth time they had spoken since the Russian incursion into Ukraine on February 24.
It came after a tense call on March 3 which the Elysee said left Mr Macron feeling "the worst is to come" in Ukraine, with Mr Putin intent on seizing "the whole" of the country.
The Kremlin said Mr Putin blamed Kyiv for failed civilian evacuations from the key Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which is surrounded by Russian troops.
He "drew attention to the fact that Kyiv still does not fulfil agreements reached on this acute humanitarian issue", the Kremlin said, after two agreements to evacuate Mariupol fell through following allegations of ceasefire breaches.
Also on Sunday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“The Prime Minister stressed that the British people stand fully behind the Ukrainian people," Downing Street said.
"He said that international support and admiration for President Zelenskyy and the whole of Ukraine grows every day."
The leaders discussed the increasing threat Russia's attacks pose to Ukrainian civilians and Mr Johnson underlined the UK's determination to ensure Mr Putin failed.
He outlined the steps the UK is taking to support Ukraine and the two leaders discussed his six-point plan for international action.
The leaders also discussed the urgent needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Mr Johnson agreed to work with partners to provide more equipment.
He and Mr Zelenskyy discussed the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
Mr Johnson outlined what the UK is doing to provide humanitarian support and impose economic costs on Russia, which strike at the heart of "Putin’s war machine".
This includes calling on other countries to take further action to remove Russia from the Swift international payment system.
Both leaders agreed to continue speaking to ensure the wishes of the Ukrainian people are at the forefront of the international response.
