MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a telephone conversation on Friday continuing their discussions regarding the ongoing situation in Ukraine, the Kremlin’s official website reported.

"Discussions on the situation in Ukraine continued," according to the statement. "The Russian president pointed to missile launches of the Ukrainian military against residential areas in Donetsk and Makeyvka, which resulted in significant number of human casualties."

"These war crimes have been ignored by the West," the statement said adding that the telephone talks between Putin and Scholz were held upon an initiative of the German chancellor.

On March 14, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) authorities reported fragments from a Tochka-U missile fired by the Ukrainian military had landed in the center of Donetsk. According to Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin, the missile carried a cluster charge. As a result, 18 people died on the spot, three more died in hospital from their injuries. In total, 35 victims were taken to medical facilities.