Ukraine's Zelenskiy says spoke to Macron, Merkel about steps to end war in eastern Ukraine

KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron about intensifying talks to end the war in eastern Ukraine and preparing a new peace summit.

Ukraine, France and Germany "stand for agreeing on coordinated successive steps that will ensure peace," he wrote on Twitter.

Ukraine has battled Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbass region in a conflict that Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people since 2014.