French president Emmanuel Macron has been said to believe the worst is yet to come as far as the crisis in Ukraine is concerned.

CEOAFRICA this is coming after Macron had a very long phone call with Russian president, Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

The Russian leader made clear his “great determination” to continue the military onslaught with the objective of “taking control” of the whole country, the French president’s office said.

“We expect that the worst is yet to come. Putin said the operations were based on the refusal of Ukrainians to put in place the Minsk agreements,” a statement by the office reads.

Russian forces have continued to bombard Ukrainian cities, seizing the southern port of Kherson and encircling Mariupol on the Azov Sea.

Macron, meanwhile, took to his official Twitter handle to say: “I spoke this morning with President Putin to cease his attacks on Ukraine. At this point, he refuses.

“Maintaining the dialogue to avoid human tragedies is absolutely necessary. I will continue my efforts and contacts. We must avoid the worst.

“Dialogue to protect populations, to obtain gestures that will avoid human tragedies, to put an end to this war: this is the meaning of my commitment alongside President Zelensky and the international community.

“My determination is and will remain total”.