Vladimir Putin has told his French counterpart the shelling of the besieged city of Mariupol will only end when Ukrainian troops surrender. The key southern port city has been under heavy shelling for weeks. French officials said on 30 March that the Russian leader had agreed to consider plans to evacuate civilians from the city. They called the situation in the city ‘catastrophic’, adding that civilian populations must be protected and must leave the city if they wish. They must have access to food aid, water and medicine. France, Turkey, Greece and several humanitarian groups have presented Putin with a plan to evacuate the city. Officials said Putin told Emmanuel Macron that he will think about it. However after the talks with Ukraine the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, played down any hopes of a breakthrough. On 31 March Ukraine made another attempt to send aid and bring back evacuees.