Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has invited his French counterpart to visit Ukraine to see for himself evidence that Russian forces have committed “genocide”, a term President Emmanuel Macron has avoided.
“I talked to him yesterday,” Mr Zelenskyy told CNN in an interview recorded on Friday but broadcast on Sunday.
“I just told him I want him to understand that this is not war, but nothing other than genocide. I invited him to come when he will have the opportunity. He’ll come and see, and I’m sure he will understand.”
Mr Zelenskyy said he also thought US President Joe Biden would come at some point, though White House officials have said there are no plans for him to do so.
The Ukrainian leader said he believed Mr Macron was shying away from using the term “genocide”, which Mr Biden has now used regarding the war in Ukraine – because he thinks it would hurt his chances for diplomatic engagement with Russia.
The Ukrainian president said earlier that the French President’s refusal to use the designation was “very painful for us”.
Mr Macron is in the heat of an election campaign, with a second-round vote against far-right politician Marine Le Pen set for next Sunday.
He told France’s Radio Bleu on Thursday that it was not helpful to Ukraine “to enter into verbal escalations without drawing all of the conclusions”.
“The word ‘genocide’ has a meaning” and “needs to be characterised legally, not by politicians”, Mr Macron said.
-
A Ukranian serviceman looks into a crater and a destroyed home are pictured in the village of Yatskivka, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Smoke raises from an oil refinery in Lysychansk about 120km north of Donetsk. AFP -
A view of a car destroyed by a military strike, during Russia's invasion in the village of Kukhari, in Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
A local resident Serhii pets a cat next to a residential house destroyed by a military strike during Russia's invasion in the village of Kukhari, in Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
A local resident Serhii stands next to a used multiple rocket launch shell, as Russia?s invasion on Ukraine continues, in the village of Kukhari, in Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Injured civilians sit in an ambulance before being taken to a hospital after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP -
Ukrainian servicemen walk among debris of damaged buildings after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP -
Children sheltering in a subway turned into a makeshift bomb shelter watch performers who came to do a puppet show in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A resident shows deminers the site of an empty rocket that struck the roof of a residential building as they clear the area in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Nadiya Trubchaninova, 70, cries while holding the coffin of her son Vadym, 48, who was killed by Russian soldiers last March 30 in Bucha, during his funeral in the cemetery of Mykulychi, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. After nine days since the discovery of Vadym's corpse, finally Nadiya could have a proper funeral for him. This is not where Nadiya Trubchaninova thought she would find herself at 70 years of age, hitchhiking daily from her village to the shattered town of Bucha trying to bring her son's body home for burial. AP -
In this image from a video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
Ukrainian Nicolai, 41, says goodbye to his daughter Elina, 4, and his wife Lolita on a train in Lviv, western Ukraine, bound for Poland. AP Photo -
A local resident crosses a street damaged during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
Petro Nazarii, 39, carries luggage into the house of a family temporarily hosting his family in Tijuana, Mexico, as they wait to enter the US. Reuters -
A local resident of Mariupol walks past the Palace of Culture, which was damaged during the conflict. Reuters -
The entrance of the Illich Steel and Iron Works in Mariupol. Reuters -
The southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters -
Protesters set off torches during a Pro-Russian protest in Belgrade, Serbia. EPA -
Local residents sit in a car as they leave the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters -
Local residents walk past a damaged apartment building in Mariupol. Reuters
Mr Zelenskyy, in his CNN interview, said he would also like Mr Biden to visit Ukraine.
A growing list of European leaders have made their way to Kyiv in shows of support, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
After Mr Johnson visited the devastated Ukrainian town of Bucha, where officials say scores of civilians were “simply shot in the streets”, he said evidence of a massacre by Russian troops “doesn’t look far short of genocide to me”.
Regarding a possible visit by Mr Biden, Mr Zelenskyy said: “I think he will” come, “but it’s his decision, of course, and about the safety situation. It depends.”
“But, I think, he’s the leader of the United States and that’s why he should come here to see.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba praised Mr Biden’s backing for Kyiv. In an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS he said a visit by the US leader would “be an important message of support”.
“A personal meeting between two presidents could also pave the way for new supplies and of ... US weapons to Ukraine and also for discussions on the possible political settlement of this conflict,” he said.
US officials say they are considering sending an emissary to Kyiv, but for now have ruled out a high-risk visit by 79-year-old President Biden himself.
