In an interview published in the Italian press on Monday, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky says French President Emmanuel Macron is wasting his time trying to establish a dialogue with Russia's Vladimir Putin, who is lost in "the dream of rebuilding the former soviet empire".
In a French Sunday newspaper, Emmanuel Macron said that it was essential to defeat Russia in the Ukraine war, but without humiliating Moscow. To that end, the French president proposed negotiating with Vladimir Putin.
"I want Russia to be defeated in Ukraine, and I want Ukraine to be able to defend its position," the French leader said on his return from the Munich Security Conference.
"I am convinced that, in the end, this will not conclude militarily," Macron added, predicting that neither said would prevail in the armed conflict.
But he did not, like some, want the fight to be taken on to Russian soil. Such people, he said, "want above all to crush Russia.
"This has never been the position of France and it never will be."
Macron insists that France can play a crucial role as a powerful mediator.
'Macron is wasting his time'
"Dialogue is useless," the Ukrainian leader says in an interview carried this weekend by the three most influential Italian dailies.
"Macron is wasting his time," Zelensky continues. "I have come to the conclusion that we are not going to change the Russian attitude by talking.
"They have decided to isolate themselves in a dream of rebuilding the former soviet empire, and there's nothing we can do.
"It's up to them to decide if they want to cooperate with the international community on the basis of mutual respect."
Ukraine needs to end the war soon
On the question of Russian tactics, which have recently shifted to a war of attrition, Zelensky says he wants victory sooner rather than later.
"The quicker it's over, the fewer people we will lose. In 2014 (during the Donbass war) the conflict got bogged down and that cost us heavily.
"The Minsk agreement (which officially ended the 2014 hostilities) gave Putin the time to prepare for last year's attack.
"But we won't fall into the same trap twice. Our army is highly motivated because they're defending their families, their homes."
Bakhmout is not worth killing everyone
Zelensky is, however, cautious on the price that the Ukrainian military should pay for specific strategic targets, like the industrial city of Bakhmout.
"It is important for us to defend Bakhmout," he says, "but not at any price. It's no good if everybody gets killed.
"We will fight as long as it's reasonable. The Russians want to advance into the Donbass region, as far as the Dnipro River if they can.
"We'll do what we can to slow them down, while we get ready for our next counterattack."
Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone on Sunday, with the French leader promising continued NATO support and further supplies of military equipment.
