Russia slams Macron comments on Ukraine arms deliveries

Russia on Wednesday criticised comments by French President Emmanuel Macron, who refused this week to rule out delivering fighter jets to Ukraine, while warning against the risk of escalation.

“Forgive me but this is absurd,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters during a press briefing.

“Is the president of France really certain that if arms, heavy weapons and aircraft are supplied to the Kyiv regime to conduct combat operations, this will not lead to an escalation of the situation?” she said.

“I refuse to believe that an adult person is guided by this kind of logic.

“Such statements only increase the already irrepressible appetite of the Zelensky regime,” she said, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Macron said Monday he would not rule out the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine, telling Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the Netherlands that, “Nothing is excluded in principle”.

But he also said that any arms would “not be escalatory” and should only be “to aid the resistance effort” rather than targeting Russia itself.

Ukraine is expecting to receive up to 140 modern tanks from its Western allies, and Zelensky is now urging the West to send fighter jets and long-range missiles.