Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for more patriotic education for his country's youth in order to protect them from foreign influences in what he views as a global ideological battle.

"There is a tough battle in the world for hearts and minds, for ideological and informational influence," Putin said at a government meeting on Thursday, cautioning against "artificial conflicts" stirred by foreign states, including among different ethnicities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday expressed "deep concern" over the growing number of civilian casualties and refugees in eastern Ukraine.

"Vladimir Putin expressed deep concern over the growing number of peaceful civilians and a sharp increase in the number of refugees from southeastern Ukraine in Russia," the Kremlin said in a statement after a telephone conversation between Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said U.S. pressure on French banks was "blackmail" linked to Paris' controversial decision to press ahead with a sensitive deal to supply Moscow with warships.

"This does not concern us directly but what they are doing to French banks right now -- this causes nothing but indignation in Europe and here," Putin told ambassadors in a key foreign policy speech.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday described the conflict in Ukraine as the culmination of Western efforts to contain Russia and sought to play Moscow's "natural partner" Europe against the United States.

In a keynote speech laying out his foreign policy priorities, Putin lambasted the U.S. drive to sideline Moscow and said Europe has become a victim of "short-sighted, ideology-driven approaches."

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday called for Ukraine's truce to be extended and for new talks between Kiev and separatists, just hours before the current ceasefire expires.

"Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of extending a ceasefire as well as creating a reliable mechanism to control the observance of the truce with an active role of the OSCE," the Kremlin said in a statement after Putin held talks with his French counterpart Francois Hollande, Germany's Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

France and Germany on Monday looked set to ramp up pressure on Russia to stem the Ukraine conflict in frantic negotiations as the clock ticks down on a shaky truce.

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were due to hold four-way telephone talks with Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin and new Kiev leader Petro Poroshenko ahead of a 1900 GMT deadline for an unsteady ceasefire to end in violence-hit eastern Ukraine.

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke for "over two hours" with their Russian and Ukrainian counterparts Sunday, the Elysee said, with the latest ceasefire deadline in Ukraine looming.

During the telephone exchange with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's leader Petro Poroshenko, the leaders discussed "the importance of making new concrete advances in the security situation on the ground, prolonging the ceasefire and putting in place the peace plan" presented by Ukraine, the French president said in a statement.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande will join Ukraine's new leader on a Sunday call to Russia's Vladimir Putin before Kiev's shaky truce with pro-Kremlin separatists expires.

The second such teleconference in four days was arranged in Brussels on Friday when Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko put his name to a historic trade deal with Europe that breaks Kiev's bonds with Moscow.

Russia must take "concrete" steps to resolve the Ukraine crisis, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday, warning Moscow could easily reinstate its parliamentary approval for military intervention.

Russian President Vladimir Putin must publicly call for pro-Moscow rebels to lay down their arms and cut support to them, Kerry said, adding: "There are many concrete things that would make a difference on the ground."

Russia's upper chamber of parliament on Wednesday voted to scrap an earlier resolution allowing President Vladimir Putin to send troops into Ukraine, in a move Moscow says will help the peace process.

Only one senator voted against Putin's Tuesday proposal to rescind the March 1 decision granting him the right to intervene in Ukraine to protect Russian speakers, while 153 voted in favor.