The worst is yet to come. The phrase of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, is his conclusion after having listened to Vladimir Putin, head of the Kremlin, determined to continue the offensive on Ukraine, in which he made it clear that he could “take control” of the entire country.

In a conversation that lasted an hour and a half, Putin told his French counterpart that the Russian operation is proceeding “according to plans” and that it could “intensify” if the Ukrainians do not accept his conditions, the French president’s office reported on Thursday.

The telephone conversation took place at the request of Putin and in it, the Russian leader warned that if the Ukrainians do not accept his terms through political-diplomatic means, Russia will get them through the military.

Macron, according to the sources, told him that he was making a serious mistake, that he was looking for excuses and that his actions were not in accordance with reality nor could he justify his violence and the price that his country is going to pay, which will end isolated, weakened and under sanctions for a long period of time.

The French head of state extracted from that telephone exchange that “the worst is yet to come”, given Putin’s determination and his argument of blaming Ukraine as the trigger for his operation due to the non-compliance, in the opinion of the Russian leader, of the agreements on Peace of Minsk.

From Elysee, it was admitted that although the talk was tense on the substance, the dialogue was frank and there is an intention to maintain contact in the future because both leaders can say strong things without breaking the conversation.

Macron again demanded that Putin put an end to the military offensive and asked him to guarantee the physical integrity of both the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, his relatives, and all civilians in the country. Putin assured that civilians are not a military target.

The conversation took place on the same day that new negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are planned in the Belarusian region of Brest.

Putin, according to French sources, assures that the Ukrainians are committing war crimes and are behaving like Nazis, which is why, although he says he is open to negotiation, he foresees going to the end, until the taking of control of the entire country.

Despite the sanctions against Russia already imposed by the international community, France believes that there is still room to tighten the siege on Russia with more support for Ukraine, initiatives with those who can put pressure on Putin, or new economic or diplomatic measures.

Their bilateral conversation was followed by another between Macron and Zelensky, in which the French president explained the Russian president’s conditions and the Ukrainian president maintained that they will not surrender.