German Chancellor Scholz urges Putin to "show willingness to negotiate with Ukraine"

Scholz further emphasised the need for Russia to demonstrate "willingness to engage in negotiations" with Ukraine, to achieve a lasting peace.

Sharing a post on X, Scholz wrote, "I spoke to President Putin on the phone and called on him to end the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and to withdraw his troops."

"Russia must show willingness to negotiate with Ukraine - with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace," the post added.

Earlier, the two leaders had their last conversation in December 2022, with the discussions focused on various aspects of the situation around Ukraine.

The Kremlin had said, "Vladimir Putin again explained in detail Russia's fundamental approaches to the special military operation and pointed out the destructive policy of Western countries, including Germany, pumping the Kyiv regime with weapons and training the Ukrainian military. All this, as well as their comprehensive political and financial support for Ukraine, leads Kyiv to reject any idea of negotiations. In addition, it encourages radical Ukrainian nationalists to commit more and more bloody crimes against the civilian population."

Notably, today's telephonic conversation between Scholz and Putin comes at a critical time, as Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine.

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia's shelling of Ukraine, which resulted in widespread terrorization of peaceful cities and communities.

Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces launched attacks on multiple regions, including Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia, utilising artillery, drones, and guided aerial bombs, Zelenskyy said.

Sharing a post on X, Zelenskyy wrote, "Russia does not stop shelling Ukraine, terrorizing our regions, peaceful cities, and communities. Over the past 24 hours, the occupiers have been shelling the Donetsk region--where a drone strike claimed one life--along with Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kherson, Sumy and Chernihiv regions, using artillery, drones, and guided aerial bombs."

Zelenskyy further said that the attack resulted in significant damage to residential buildings, a heating main, an educational institution, a church, and the port area.

Earlier on Wednesday, Russian forces had launched a massive attack on Ukrainian cities which involved ballistic and cruise missiles targeting Kyiv.

"This morning, Russia launched yet another combined attack on our cities, and our air defense responded effectively. Russian missiles--including ballistic and cruise missiles targeting Kyiv--were shot down, along with drones. In total, around 90 strike drones attacked Ukraine," Zelenskyy had said on X.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which escalated in February 2022 with Russia's full-scale invasion, has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths. Moscow continues to deny intentionally targeting civilians, despite widespread international condemnation and evidence of airstrikes on residential areas. (ANI)