Ukraine War: Emmanuel Macron warns against escalation after Joe Biden calls Vladimir Putin a 'butcher' - live updates

French President Emmanuel Macron said he "would not use those words" after US President Joe Biden called the Russian leader a "butcher" over the war in Ukraine.

Turkey says world cannot 'burn bridges' with Moscow

Turkey's presidential spokesman says the international community must still talk to Russia in order to end the war in Ukraine. 

"If everybody burns bridges with Russia then who is going to talk to them at the end of the day," Ibrahim Kalin told the Doha international forum.

Kalin also called on Ukraine to be given more backing. "Ukrainians need to be supported by every means possible so they can defend themselves ... but the Russian case must be heard, one way or the other," so that its grievances could be understood if not justified, he added.

Turkey, a NATO member, enjoys good relations with both Russia and Ukraine and has offered to serve as a mediator in the conflict. While Ankara has criticized Moscow's invasion, it has refused to join Western countries in imposing sanctions on Russia.

Macron distances himself from Biden's 'butcher' comments

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned against verbal "escalation" with Moscow after his US counterpart Joe Biden described Russia's Vladimir Putin as a "butcher."

"I would not use those words," Macron said in an interview with broadcaster France 3.

The French president stressed that "everything must be done to stop the situation from escalating" if there is to be any hope of stopping Russia's war in Ukraine. 

Macron told France 3 he saw his task as "achieving first a cease-fire and then the total withdrawal of [Russian] troops by diplomatic means. If we want to do that, we can't escalate either in words or actions," he said.

In a fiery speech in Warsaw on Saturday night, Biden called Putin a "butcher" and said, "This man cannot remain in power." The White House later said the US was not calling for regime change in Russia.

Tanks cannot destroy belief in freedom, says German president

Germany's president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has appealed for humanity and solidarity in the face of Russia's aggression in Ukraine.

"We must not permit [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's hatred to become a hatred dividing peoples and individuals, and it must not be allowed to divide our society either," he said at the opening of a Berlin Philharmonic concert for Ukraine on Sunday.

"We can counter this fear with our steadfastness and our humanity and solidarity ... with a belief in freedom and democracy," he said. "A belief in freedom and democracy alone will not stop any tanks. But I also know this: no tanks can ever destroy this belief."

Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, tweeted that he would not attend the concert because "only Russian soloists, no Ukrainians" were billed to play.

Steinmeier's office said musicians from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Germany, among others, were to perform pieces by Ukrainian, Russian and Polish composers.

Luhansk leader says may hold referendum on joining Russia

The Moscow-backed self-proclaimed "Luhansk People's Republic" in eastern Ukraine says it may soon hold a referendum on becoming part of Russia.

"I think that in the near future a referendum will be held on the territory of the republic, during which the people will... express their opinion on joining the Russian Federation," Russian news agencies quoted Luhansk leader Leonid Pasechnik as saying.

However, Leonid Kalashnikov, head of the Duma's committee on relations with the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States, was quoted by Russia's TASS news agency as saying a referendum at the present time was not a good idea.

"I think now is not the right moment for this. And it is hardly necessary to be preoccupied with such questions now, when the fate at the front is being decided," he said, according to TASS.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last month recognized the separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent. Days later, he launched an invasion of Ukraine, which he described as a "special operation" intended to defend the self-proclaimed republics and "denazify" and disarm its neighbor.

Russian-backed rebels in the eastern regions have been locked in a conflict with Kyiv since 2014, after Moscow's annexation of Crimea. More than 14,000 people have died in the fighting.

Russia says it targeted Lviv with cruise missiles

Russia targeted military structures in the western city of Lviv using high-precision cruise missiles, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"The armed forces of the Russian Federation continue offensive actions as part of the special military operation," the ministry's spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

Long-range missiles were used to hit a fuel depot used by Ukrainian forces, and cruise missiles targeted a plant being used to repair anti-aircraft systems, radar stations and sights for tanks in Lviv.

30,000 people fleeing Ukraine reach France

French Housing Minister Emmanuelle Wargon says around 30,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine have arrived in France, and that around half of them have since traveled to other places such as Spain.

She told Franceinfo radio the government was preparing to welcome 100,000 people from Ukraine. So far, France has been granting temporary EU stay permits to Ukrainian refugees, allowing them to work and attend school in the country.

Meanwhile, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has called for European Union countries to take in more people from Ukraine, saying southern European countries in particular could play a bigger role.

According to the United Nations, more than 3.7 million have fled Ukraine. Most have gone to neighboring Poland.

Greece has offered "to take in people who arrive by plane," Faeser told the Tagesspiegel newspaper. Spain and Italy have also said they would be willing to accept refugees, "but they need the transport links that we are now creating," she said.

Faeser said there was now a train connection to bring people from Rzepin, in western Poland, to Lyon, in France. "We are expanding that," she added.

US has no strategy of Putin regime change, Blinken says

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reiterated that the United States has no
strategy of regime change for Russia.

His comments came after US President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power" during a speech in Warsaw on Saturday night. The White House later said he was not calling for regime change.

"I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else," Blinken told reporters in Jerusalem.

"As you know, and as you have heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia — or anywhere else, for that matter."

Berlin mulling missile shield for German territory: report

The German government is looking at the possibility of putting up a missile shield over the entire territory of Germany, according to a report in the tabloid Bild am Sonntag.

The newspaper said the option had been floated at a recent meeting between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Bundeswehr Inspector General Eberhard Zorn about the use of €100 billion ($110 billion) in funding set aside for the armed forces.

Bild reported that the discussion about acquiring an "Iron Dome" focused specifically on Israel's "Arrow 3" system. It said a decision had not yet been made, but that Scholz's Social Democrats were in favor of the purchase.

"We must better protect ourselves against the threat from Russia. To do this, we need a Germany-wide missile shield quickly," the general rapporteur on the budget committee of the Defense Ministry, Andreas Schwarz, was quoted by Bild as saying.

"The Israeli Arrow 3 system is a good solution," he added.

Such a system would cost around €2 billion, according to security information cited by the newspaper, and could be operational as soon as 2025.

Evacuation corridor agreed for Mariupol: Ukraine

Ukraine and Russia have agreed two "humanitarian corridors" to evacuate civilians from front-line areas on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

She said one of the corridors was from the southern city of Mariupol and would allow people to travel by private car to Zaporizhzhia, around 250 kilometers (155 miles) away.

A statement posted to Telegram said the second corridor would allow people to evacuate from the city of Rubizhne, in the eastern Luhansk region, to Bakhmut, around 80 kilometers away.

The besieged port city of Mariupol, home to some 400,000 people before the war, has been devastated by weeks of Russian attacks. Tens of thousands of people are still believed to be trapped there with little access to food, power or heating.

Mayor Vadym Boichenko said on Saturday that the situation remained critical, with street fighting in the city center. He said he had spoken to France's ambassador to Ukraine about options for evacuating civilians after French President Emmanuel Macron said he would talk to Moscow about helping people leave.

Efforts to organize mass evacuations under cease-fires have been mostly unsuccessful, with Russia and Ukraine trading blame for the failures.

Kharkiv nuclear facility hit by shelling

Ukraine's nuclear watchdog says Russian shelling has again hit a nuclear research facility in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate said that the neutron source experimental facility in the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology came under fire Saturday and that fighting made it impossible to assess the damage.

It's not the first time the facility has been hit by Russian shelling.

The complex is used for the research and production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial needs. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the inventory of radioactive material at the facility is very low, reducing the risks of radiation release.

Russian forces have heavily bombarded Kharkiv's residential buildings and critical infrastructure since invading Ukraine last month. Other nuclear facilities have also been hit during the war.

Ukraine says Russia destroying fuel and food storage depots
Russia has started destroying Ukrainian fuel and food storage depots, according to Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko. The information has not been independently verified.

Speaking on local television, Denysenko said that meant the Ukrainian government would soon have to disperse the remaining stocks of both.

The adviser also said Russia was bringing forces to the Ukrainian border on rotation, signaling it could make new attempts to advance.

Ukrainian counterattacks 'hampering' Russian forces: UK

In a fresh intelligence briefing, the British Defense Ministry says Russian forces appear to be focusing their efforts on encircling Ukrainian troops directly facing the separatist regions in the east of the country.

It said Russian forces were "advancing from the direction of Kharkiv in the north and Mariupol in the south."

At the same time, the battlefield across northern Ukraine remains "largely static with local Ukrainian counterattacks hampering Russian attempts to reorganize their forces," the intelligence update added.

Ukraine appeals to Red Cross to change Russia plans

Ukraine has asked the International Committee of the Red Cross not to open a planned office in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, saying it would legitimize Moscow's "humanitarian corridors."

Russian media reported earlier this week that Red Cross chief Peter Maurer had asked Moscow to facilitate the office's opening following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Rostov-on-Don is the largest Russian city on Ukraine's eastern border. It has been used by Russia to provide temporary accommodation camps for people transported out of the war zone.

Mykhailo Radutskyi, chairman of the public health committee in Ukraine's parliament, appealed to the Red Cross to change its plans.

"The Committee calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross that it would not legitimize 'humanitarian corridors' on the territory of the Russian Federation as well as that it would not support the abduction of Ukrainians and its forced deportation," Radutskyi said in a statement.

Ukraine accuses Russia of illegally deporting thousands of people since the start of the war.

The ICRC was not immediately available to comment.

Russia taking 'ruthless action' in Mariupol, says mayor

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko has accused Moscow of seeking to wipe out the southern port city, which has been devastated by attacks since the Russian invasion began last month.

In an interview with the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, Boichenko said the Russian army was taking "ruthless action against" all residents of the besieged city, including ethnic Russians.

"Their task is simply to erase the city from the face of the earth, including its inhabitants," Boichenko said. 

"There can be no other name for it" besides genocide, he asserted.

The mayor said some parts of the city were already under Russian control and that "the city is surrounded, the ring is getting tighter."

Authorities in Mariupol say at least 2,100 civilians have been killed since the Russian assault began.

Russia relying on munitions launched from its airspace: UK intelligence

The latest intelligence update from the UK's Defense Ministry says Moscow is trying to limit its aircrafts' exposure to Ukrainian air defense forces by relying on "stand-off" munitions launched from within Russian airspace.

A US report has cited a 60% failure rate among these Russian munitions.

The UK briefing said this failure rate would "compound Russia's problem of increasingly limited stocks forcing them to revert to less sophisticated missiles or accepting more risk to their aircraft."

The report also said that Russia's air and missile forces were continuing to target densley populated civilian areas across Ukraine.

Ukraine says 12 journalists have died since Russia invasion began

Ukrainian Attorney General Iryna Venediktova said on her Facebook page Saturday that 12 journalists have died since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Ten more journalists were injured during the war, she added, noting that citizens of Ireland, Russia and the United States were among the foreign reporters killed in the conflict. Venediktova alleged that the reporters were killed by the Russian army.

Zelenskyy calls on Poland to send fighter jets

In a video conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Poland once again to send fighter jets and tanks to fight off Russia's invasion.

Zelenskyy warned that, if Ukraine cannot repel Russia's attack, neighbors, including NATO countries, are vulnerable.

According to a readout provided by the Ukrainian president's official website, Zelenskyy said: "There is a high risk that the Russian army will pose a missile threat not only to the territories of our neighbors — Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and the Baltic States — but also a direct general military threat."

Despite Ukraine's request for fighter jets and a Polish plan to provide them via the Ramstein air force base in Germany, the US objected, and the plan was dropped.

Summary of events in Ukraine-Russia crisis on Saturday

US President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met Saturday with Ukraine's foreign and defense ministers at the Marriott Hotel in central Warsaw. Biden and Austin promised US support to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

In a speech from Warsaw's Royal Castle during the visit to Poland, Biden told the world to prepare for a "long fight ahead." He castigated Russian President Vladimir Putin and ended his speech by saying: "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." The White House later said Biden was not calling for regime change in Russia.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the US intends to send $100 million (€91 million) to Ukraine in civilian security assistance. This money is earmarked for the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs to "provide essential border security, sustain civil law enforcement functions, and safeguard critical governmental infrastructure."

Vladyslav Atroshenko, the mayor of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv that lies close to the border with Russia and Belarus, said that the city "has been completely devastated."

Atroshenko warned that the city has been surrounded by Russian troops and it is no longer possible to set up escape corridors for civilians. The city is also without power and the major bridge connecting Chernihiv with Kyiv has been destroyed, the mayor said.

Ukrainian officials reported that airstrikes had hit the western city of Lviv on Saturday afternoon after explosions were heard earlier outside the city, leaving at least five wounded.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko announced an extended curfew will go into force until Monday morning. However, it was later canceled.