Ukraine minister fires back after France’s Macron said not to ‘humiliate Russia’

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba slammed French President Emmanuel Macron after he urged world powers not to “humiliate Russia.”

France has attempted to mediate the conflict between Ukraine and Russia since the war began and maintain civil relationships with both sides. 

“We must not humiliate Russia so that the day when the fighting stops we can build an exit ramp through diplomatic means,” Macron said Saturday during an interview with a local paper, Reuters reported. “I am convinced that it is France’s role to be a mediating power.”

The comment has fared poorly on the international stage and in Kyiv, where Kuleba condemned Macron for the remark. 

“Calls to avoid humiliation of Russia can only humiliate France and every other country that would call for it. Because it is Russia that humiliates itself,” Kuleba tweeted Saturday. 

“We all better focus on how to put Russia in its place. This will bring peace and save lives,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also appeared to reference Macron’s comment in an address Saturday night, saying: “The Russian army can stop burning churches. The Russian army can stop destroying cities. The Russian army can stop killing children. If the same person in Moscow just gives such an order. And the fact that there is still no such order is an obvious humiliation for the whole world.”

Russia has been accused of multiple war crimes, including targeting civilians, raping women and kidnapping children. 

Macron said in the same interview that he told Russian President Vladimir Putin he is “making a historic and fundamental mistake for his people, for himself and for history.”

Friday marked 100 days of fighting in Ukraine as Ukrainian forces are still working to repel Russian soldiers from their land. 

Zelensky offered a message of hope to his people to mark the milestone, saying that “victory will be ours.”

However, in recent days, Ukraine has been struggling, and Zelensky admitted that Russia has control of one-fifth of Ukraine. 

The difficulty in the war comes as the U.S. this week announced a $700 million weapons aid package for Ukraine.

— Updated at 8:41 p.m.