Macron warns against ‘spirit of defeat’ on Ukraine
Cutting support for Ukraine would leave Europe vulnerable to Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron has warned, criticizing what he described as a defeatist attitude.
This comes as Ukraine’s European partners seek a greater role in negotiations with Moscow after being sidelined during US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
European leaders agreed on Friday to form a negotiating team comprising EU institutions and five countries: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland.
“Let us be clear: those who want to restrict Ukraine’s resources ultimately want to force it into an unjust peace, leaving it permanently vulnerable and, by extension, Europe as well. This is the spirit of defeat. It is a recipe for the next war,” the French leader wrote on X on Saturday.
“Europe must play its full part, because the security of our continent also depends on that peace.”
Moscow has accused European countries of seeking to undermine peace negotiations and argued that they must first demonstrate goodwill.
Macron reiterated that France and its partners are preparing “a multinational force” which could be deployed to Ukraine after a ceasefire. Moscow has stated that it would not accept Western troops on Ukrainian territory and would regard them as legitimate military targets.
Macron’s appeal comes amid divisions among EU members over further aid to Kiev. On Friday, Poland said it would not contribute additional funds to purchases of US weapons for Ukraine, citing its own military spending and budget deficit. Bulgaria also ruled out further transfers of weapons and ammunition from its stockpiles.
Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic have sought exemptions from a proposed financing scheme intended to cover Ukraine’s €70 billion funding gap for 2027. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pushed for all EU members to contribute, threatening to block negotiations on the bloc’s next seven-year budget unless the issue is resolved.
Denis Senik, Ukraine’s top diplomat in Washington, told RFE/RL on Saturday that Ukrainian forces continue to experience widespread restrictions affecting Starshield, a military-grade version of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications service used to operate reconnaissance and interceptor drones.
Starshield first experienced speed restrictions in mid-October, disrupting Ukrainian drone operations. Service was restored on October 24, but similar problems resurfaced in November. Kiev has questioned SpaceX’s explanation that the disruptions are technical, while the company has denied imposing new restrictions.
The renewed disruptions come amid tensions between Washington and Kiev over Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and US-mediated peace negotiations. No connection between these disputes and the Starshield restrictions has been established.
