French President Emmanuel Macron (right) considered the victory of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Ukraine war a threat to the security of the French (agencies)

French President Emmanuel Macron warned during a television interview yesterday evening, Thursday, that if Russia wins the war in Ukraine, this will destroy the security and credibility of Europe.

"If Russia wins, we will no longer have security, because the Russian regime led by President Vladimir Putin will not stop at the borders of Ukraine," he said, adding that in the face of Moscow's escalation we must say that we are ready to respond.

During the interview with France 2 and TF1, Macron considered that those who set “limits” to the commitment to support Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion are not choosing peace, but rather choosing defeat, he said.

The French President added that if the situation deteriorates in Ukraine, we must be prepared to take the necessary decisions so that Russia never wins, stressing that the security of the French requires "defeating Russia."

ground forces

Macron sparked controversy last month after he said he did not rule out sending ground forces to Ukraine in the future, at a time when many leaders distanced themselves from this, while others - especially in Eastern Europe - expressed their support.

He added that it is important for Europe not to draw red lines, which might suggest weakness to the Kremlin and encourage it to continue invading Ukraine, but he refrained from providing details about what the process of deploying forces in Ukraine might look like.

Macron stressed that France will never launch an attack against Russia, and that Paris is not at war with Moscow, even though Russia has launched attacks on French interests inside and outside France, he said.

"The Kremlin regime is an adversary," the French president added, refraining from describing Russia as an enemy, but describing Putin's threat to launch nuclear strikes as "not appropriate."

Macron continued that Ukraine is in a difficult situation on the ground, and that strong support from allies is necessary, stressing that peace does not mean Ukraine surrendering or abandoning it.

He also expressed his hope that a day would come when peace would be negotiated with a Russian president, “whoever he may be,” imagining for the first time the possibility that Putin would not be in power.

Source: Agencies