French President Emmanuel Macron held separate phone calls with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts on Monday in a bid to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine.

Macron spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “several” times and also had an hour-and-a-half-long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he urged to “end the Russian offensive against Ukraine,” Macron’s office said.

Macron “reaffirmed the need to implement an immediate ceasefire” in his call with Putin, and called for a “halt to all strikes and attacks against civilians and places of residence” while discussions are going on between the two countries.

Putin “confirmed his willingness” to do so, but Ukraine said its second-largest city was coming under attack from heavy Russian shelling even as negotiations between the nations were underway at the border of Belarus.

Macron also proposed that he and Putin stay in contact in the coming days “to prevent the situation from worsening,” and Putin agreed, Macron called Putin at Zelenskyy’s request, his office said, and praised the Ukrainian president for “the sense of responsibility” in trying to move forward with negotiations “even though Ukraine is being attacked by Russia.