"Don't Humiliate Russia" — Macron's Early Ukraine Diplomacy Draws Kyiv's Anger

Macron maintained frequent direct phone contact with Putin in the weeks before and after Russia's February 2022 invasion, attempting to broker a diplomatic off-ramp. In June 2022 he said the West "must not humiliate Russia" so that a negotiated end to the war remained possible once fighting stopped — a remark that provoked fury in Kyiv and among Central and Eastern European allies, who read it as prioritising Russia's dignity over Ukraine's survival.

Emmanuel Macron — Renaissance (formerly La République En Marche)

In power 2017–present