Moscow has rejected Paris as a mediator in any peace negotiations with Kiev, at a time when battles continue on several fronts inside Ukraine and in Russian border areas.
Commenting on holding a peace summit on Ukraine in Paris, the Kremlin said that France is not a neutral country and cannot be a mediator in the settlement of the conflict, as it participates in it alongside Ukraine.
The Kremlin stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was and remains open to any contacts to achieve Russia's goals by other means and not by special military operation.
The Kremlin added that the West had left Russia no other options.
The Wall Street Journal quoted European diplomats as saying that Ukraine's allies were planning a world summit without Russia to rally support and endorse Kiev's conditions for ending the war.
European leaders are pushing for the participation of countries that have sided with Russia or taken a neutral stance.
Diplomats have expressed hope that the summit, to which US President Joe Biden and NATO leaders will be invited, will take place shortly before the summit in July.
Belgorod targeting
On the ground, the governor of Russia's Belgorod province, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said the Ukrainian army continued to bombard border villages and towns within the province.
Gladkov pointed out that material damage was caused to residential buildings and infrastructure in the town of Maslovo, located between the city of Belgorod and the Ukrainian border, explaining that the shelling also led to a partial power outage in 4 Russian towns in the province.
Belgorod province, located in southwestern Russia along Ukraine's northern border, has been targeted since the first month of the Russian war on Ukraine, and the frequency and quality of attacks have increased in recent weeks, and the province is a major supply line for Russian forces inside Ukrainian borders.
In Pakhmut, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Alexander Sersky, confirmed that Russian forces were suffering heavy losses on the Pakhmut front on a daily basis.
Sirski, on his Telegram page after visiting the eastern Pakhmut front, indicated that he would continue to work with his soldiers on the front lines and plan further actions with unit commanders on the ground.
Targeting of civilians
The governor of Ukraine's Dnipro region, Serhiy Lisak, and other officials said an explosion near the central city on Saturday damaged a two-story house and injured at least 13 people and others trapped under the rubble.
Lesak wrote on Telegram that three children were among the wounded, and emergency services moved to the scene in a city north of Dnipro and pulled a man from the rubble.
Reports on social media said a Russian missile caused the explosion, and that the city's emergency services building was also damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that the attack took place between two houses.
Zelenskiy wrote: "Unfortunately there are people under the rubble. Once again, Russia is proving that it is a terrorist state," he said.
Moscow denies its military forces are targeting civilians, while photos posted on social media showed rescue teams working in a destroyed and burning building amid piles of shattered building materials.