Vladimir Putin has had an 80-minute phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
In the call the Russian leader was urged to hold "serious negotiations" with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Macron and Scholz also called for the release of Azovstal prisoners who are being held by Russia after their surrender at the steelworks.
Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry says the town of Lyman in the Donetsk region has fallen under the full control of Russian forces.
Street fights are taking place in Severodonetsk as Russian forces seek to take control of the city, the regional governor Serhiy Haidai says.
Russia has scrapped its age limit for professional soldiers, paving the way for more civilian experts to be recruited for the Ukraine conflict.
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