“Calls to avoid humiliation of Russia will only lead to the humiliation of France and any other country that may call for this,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

Earlier in the day, Reuters quoted French President Emmanuel Macron as saying that “Paris will play a mediating role in ending the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.” Macron said that the total duration of his telephone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the past six months is at least 100 hours.

Macron said in a press interview that “he made no secret of these talks and held them at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky”, stressing that “Russia cannot be humiliated” and pointing out that “when hostilities stop one day, we we can pave the way out of the crisis through diplomacy, and I am convinced that France should play the role of mediator.”