Putin, Macron discuss Ukraine conflict in phone call

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron over the phone on Monday, in which he warned that United States-led military exercises in the Black Sea were "increasing tensions" with NATO.

Both leaders expressed "dissatisfaction" in what Moscow called a "worsening" situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the Kremlin.

Putin drew attention to the provocative nature of large-scale exercises led by the US and its allies in the Black Sea, which are only adding to the strain in relations between Russia and NATO.

Macron told Putin that France is ready to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity.

"Both sides expressed discontent at the lack of progress in settling the Ukrainian internal conflict. It was noted that the situation is only worsening," the Kremlin said.

Putin's comments came after Western countries raised alarm over Russian military activities near Ukraine.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has gathered nearly 100,000 troops near its border and that Western countries had shared information about active Russian troop movement with Kiev.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the US-led alliance spotted "large and unusual concentrations of Russian forces" at Ukraine's border in recent weeks.

The Kremlin has dismissed the concerns as unfounded, complaining about increased NATO activity in the region instead.

"We're not recording any neighboring country's equipment or military movement directly near the border," said Andriy Demchenko, Ukrainian state border service spokesman, on Tuesday.

In his phone call with Macron, Putin also criticized Ukraine for the "recent use" of drones in its conflict with pro-Russian militias.

Last month, Kiev released footage of what it said was its first use of the Turkish made TB2 Bayraktar drone against militias.

Putin said this violates peace agreements signed in Minsk in 2015. "The recent use of combat drones by the Ukrainian armed forces in the zone of conflict points to this policy," the Kremlin stressed.

Russia has warned that the involvement of the US will raise tension in the Russian-Ukrainian border. Washington's top diplomat Antony Blinken had earlier warned Moscow against making another "serious mistake" on Ukraine, as Washington sought clarity about troop movement near the border.

Russia's RT television reported on Monday that the US has handed over 80 metric tons of ammunition to Ukraine's armed forces as part of the latest series of deliveries under the terms of a multimillion-dollar "security assistance" package brokered by US President Joe Biden.

The US embassy in Kiev confirmed the arrival of the load on Sunday. Commending the handover of the munitions, diplomats took to Twitter to proclaim that "it is a demonstration of US commitment to the success of a stable, democratic and free Ukraine".

According to officials, this was the fourth delivery within the framework of additional security assistance of $60 million, which Biden granted to Kiev in August. The budget is reserved for weaponry and services provided by the US Department of Defense, as well as military education and training.

Last week, Moscow has warned the US that a new plan to hand over lethal weapons to Ukraine would undermine the chances of peace in the country's war-torn Donbass and escalate tensions with Russia, after Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuyleba signed a deal pledging to "deepen strategic partnership" and increase "defense cooperation".