Ukraine war: Foreign minister hits back after Macron says ‘don’t humiliate Russia’ | World News
Ukraine’s foreign minister criticized Emmanuel Macron after the French leader said Russia must not be “humiliated” by the neighboring country’s invasion.
In an interview with a regional newspaper, Mr. Macron “We must not humiliate Russia so that by the time the fighting stops, we can build a way out through diplomatic means,” he said.
He added that he “believes in France’s role as a mediating power”.
The president’s comment came as Russia’s The invasion of Ukraine has passed the 100-day mark, with intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region.
In response to Mr. Macron, Of Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted: “Calls to avoid humiliating Russia can only humiliate France and every other country will call for it.”
“We’d all better focus on how to put Russia in its rightful place,” he added.
Mr. Macron spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin several times in an attempt to encourage negotiations between the two sides.
In recent weeks, Russia has concentrated its forces on the industrial city of Severodonetsk in Luhansk, in one of its biggest ground battles.
Before the war, the city had a population of about 100,000.
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Boys Man Checkpoint Ukraine
Ukrainian forces say they have regained 20% of the territory they have lost and these benefits mean “unrealistic” that the city will fall Russian forces for the next two weeks.
Fierce fighting raged with both sides claiming massive casualties in a battle that military experts say could determine which side has motivation for a protracted war of attrition. in the coming months.
After the failure to capture the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Russian forces refocused their efforts on the Donbas region in the east of the country.
Russia is keeping an eye on the city of Lysychansk as it continues its assault on nearby Severodonetsk. Photo: Christopher Cunningham
Russia is about to take all of Luhansk, one of two regions of southern Ukraine that make up the land known as the Donbas.
The Ukrainian military said it had also escalated attacks around Bakhmut, a city in Donetsk, the other province that makes up the Donbas.
