Macron Warns Limiting Ukraine Aid Would Pave Way to ‘Another War’

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that limiting aid to Ukraine would force Kyiv into an unjust peace and pave the way to another war in Europe.

In a lengthy message posted on social media on Saturday, Macron said those who want to ration Ukraine’s resources were, in effect, seeking to impose a settlement that would leave the country permanently defenceless — and Europe exposed alongside it.

“Let me be clear: those who wish to restrict Ukraine’s resources aim to force it into an unjust peace, leaving it permanently defenceless and, in doing so, leaving Europe vulnerable too,” Macron wrote. “This is a recipe for the next war and cannot be France’s position.”

A warning aimed at the aid debate

Macron’s intervention comes as the United States mediates talks between Ukraine and Russia in an effort to end the war that began with Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The latest round of US-brokered negotiations, held in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November, ended without a breakthrough, although the two sides agreed a prisoner exchange involving more than 1,000 people.

The French president framed continued support for Kyiv not as open-ended spending but as a matter of European security. Helping Ukraine to defend itself, he said, means protecting France and the French people.

He set out two priorities: maintaining financial support and helping Ukraine protect its population, its power plants and its electricity networks, and working towards a just and durable peace, followed by a stronger common security framework for Europe.

The Donbas question behind the warning

Macron’s remarks landed on the same day that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed a striking new element in the negotiations. Zelensky said American negotiators had raised the possibility of Ukraine withdrawing from the parts of the Donbas it still holds in exchange for NATO membership — the first time the two issues had been linked in the talks.

“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?'” Zelensky told reporters, in remarks released by his office on Saturday. “This was the first time this issue had been raised. That is why I believe NATO is back on the agenda.”

Zelensky stressed that Kyiv was not prepared to surrender territory, but said he would put the question to a national referendum if Ukraine received a comprehensive package including security guarantees, a strong and well-funded army, and funds to rebuild. US officials had previously said Ukrainian NATO membership was off the table, and President Vladimir Putin has long described it as a red line for Moscow.

The territory at stake is smaller than the name suggests: Russia occupies roughly a fifth of Ukraine, including most of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two regions that make up the Donbas.

No US response yet

No response from the US government to Zelensky’s account has been reported, and it is not known who on the American side raised the idea or whether Washington accepts his description of the exchange. France 24 reported that Macron’s statement was posted as the US mediation effort continued, with envoys having moved on from Abu Dhabi to further talks.

Macron’s warning also follows weeks of heavy Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, including a Russian drone strike on a Kyiv hospital, as winter approaches and air defences come under strain.

For now, the French position is unambiguous. Macron said France would keep backing Kyiv financially and militarily while pressing for a peace that does not leave Ukraine defenceless — because, in his words, an unjust peace would not end the war, it would only prepare the next one.

What happens next

Attention now turns to whether the US mediation produces a written proposal, and to how European governments respond to the Donbas-for-NATO question. Zelensky has said any decision on territory would belong to Ukrainian society, not to him alone. Macron, meanwhile, has made clear that France will not support rationing the aid on which Kyiv’s defence depends.