Putin tells Ukraine to stop fighting amid renewed calls for a ceasefire.
In a conversation with the president of Türkiye, the Russian leader stated that he is ready for dialogue.
Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that his campaign in Ukraine is going according to plan and will not end until Kiev stops fighting, as efforts to evacuate the heavily bombed city of Mariupol failed for the second consecutive day.
He made the comments in a phone call to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who has called for a ceasefire in the conflict after the UN said the war has created the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
Russian media reported that Putin also held nearly two hours of talks on Sunday with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has maintained regular contact, but, as with other international efforts, has not yet convinced Moscow to cancel a campaign now on its 11th day.
Authorities in Mariupol said on Sunday they would make a second attempt to evacuate some of the 400.000 residents after the Ukrainian coastal city suffered days of shelling that left people without heating, power and water.
But the ceasefire plan failed, as happened on Saturday, with each side blaming the other for the failure.
Putin told Erdogan that he is ready for dialogue with Ukraine and foreign partners, but any attempt to prolong the negotiations would fail, a Kremlin statement said. Turkey said Erdogan called for a ceasefire to alleviate humanitarian damage.
Kyiv renewed its appeal to the West to tighten sanctions beyond existing efforts that have hit the Russian economy. It also requested more weapons, including an order for Russian-made aircraft, to help it repel Russian forces.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Washington is "very, very actively" considering how it could supply aircraft to Poland if Warsaw decides to provide its warplanes to Ukraine, speaking during a trip to neighboring Moldova.
'DESTROYING US'
Moscow calls the campaign launched on February 24 a "special military operation," saying it has no plans to occupy Ukraine, which was once part of the Soviet Union under Moscow's rule but has now turned to the West seeking membership in NATO and the European Union.
"They are destroying us," Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko told Reuters in a video call, describing the situation in the city of 400 inhabitants. "They don't even give us the opportunity to count the wounded and dead because the bombing doesn't stop."
Russia, which denies attacking civilian areas, has sent troops and equipment to Ukraine. A huge Russian convoy on a road north of Kyiv has made limited visible progress in recent days, although the Russian Defense Ministry released images on Sunday showing some tracked military vehicles in motion.
In the capital, Ukrainian soldiers reinforced defenses by digging trenches, blocking roads, and making contact with civil defense units while Russian forces shelled nearby areas.
"The positions are prepared, we've equipped them, and we're simply waiting to meet them here," a soldier said in a video released by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. "Victory will be ours."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian rockets destroyed the civilian airport in the capital of the central-western region of Vinnytsia on Sunday. He also said Russia was preparing to bomb another southern city, Odessa.