Russian President Vladimir Putin has had a "substantial" phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on the Iran-Israel conflict and Ukraine, the Kremlin says in the first such exchange between the two leaders since September 2022.
In Paris, Macron's office said the call lasted two hours and that the French leader had called for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the start of negotiations on ending the conflict.
A French diplomatic source said Macron had talked to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy before and after his call with Putin to brief him on the talks.
Macron also talked to US President Donald Trump about the exchange.
According to the Kremlin press service, Putin reiterated his position to Macron that the war in Ukraine was "a direct consequence of the West's policy," which he said had "ignored Russia's security interests" over the past few years.
Any possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine should have a "comprehensive and long-term character" and be based on "new territorial realities," the Kremlin quoted Putin as saying.
Putin has previously said Ukraine must accept Russia's annexation of swaths of its territory as part of any peace deal.
In addition to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, Russia demands at least the four eastern Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia.
Macron has said Ukraine alone should decide on whether or not to accept territorial concessions.
During Tuesday's call, Macron's office said, "the president emphasised France's unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity".
Macron and Putin aim to continue their discussions on Ukraine and Iran, the French president's office said.
Macron and Putin held regular discussions around the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which was criticised by some European allies, with Macron also visiting Putin in Russia shortly before the invasion in February 2022.
A Ukrainian drone hit an industrial plant in Izhevsk, about 1000km east of Moscow, killing three people and injuring 35, local officials said.
Alexander Brechalov, head of the Udmurtia region, said the plant's workers were moved away.
The drone struck the Kupol Electromechanical Plant, which produces air defence systems and drones for the Russian military, according to an official with Ukraine's Security Service, the SBU.
At least two direct hits were recorded on the plant's buildings, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly.
Ukraine has for months been using domestically produced long-range drones to strike plants, storage sites and logistical hubs deep inside Russian territory.
with DPA and AP