MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to hold phone talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on February 20, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.

"Yes, this conversation is on the president’s schedule," he said.

Agence France-Presse reported earlier on Saturday, citing the Elysee Palace, that Macron planned talks with Putin on Sunday to discuss Ukraine. Macron plans to speak with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on Saturday.

The situation along the contact line in Donbass took a turn for the worse on Thursday. The DPR and LPR report intensive shelling by Ukraine’s armed forces in preparation for an offensive. The republics on Friday announced evacuation of their population to Russia. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin was keeping an eye on the situation and regards it as "very, very dangerous" due to provocations by Ukraine.