Macron Says Ukraine War Represents Triple Failure for Russia

French President Emmanuel Macron has described the war waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine as “a triple failure for Russia”. The criticism was delivered by Macron on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed since Moscow launched its military invasion of Kyiv on 24 February 2022, unleashing the deadliest war on European soil since the Second World War. The invasion, initially expected to be swift, has continued for at least four years.

“This war is a triple failure for Russia: militarily, economically, and strategically,” Macron stated in a post on social media platform X, as reported by AFP on Tuesday (24/2/2026).

“One day, the Russian people will realise the scale of the crimes committed in their name, the futility of the pretexts put forward, and the devastating long-term consequences for their country,” he added.

Macron said that Ukraine had endured despite facing numerous obstacles.

“Four years of shattered lives, of violence, rape, torture, war crimes, and terror. Yet throughout those four years, Ukraine has stood firm and fought back,” Macron said in praise of Ukraine.

In his statement, Macron also noted that more than 1.2 million Russian soldiers had been wounded or killed in the war against Ukraine. “This represents Russia’s highest combat casualties since the Second World War,” he said.

The war between Russia and Ukraine, Macron stated, “has strengthened NATO, whose expansion it sought to prevent, united Europeans it wished to weaken, and exposed the fragility of imperialism from another era”.

Furthermore, Macron pledged to continue supporting Ukraine and to impose further sanctions on Russia. “So that Ukraine can endure and so that Russia understands that time is not on their side,” he said.

Macron was scheduled to chair a meeting of Ukraine’s allied nations on Tuesday (24/2) local time. He expressed hope that the meeting would “enable us to continue moving forward”.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, relaunched by the United States last year, have so far failed to halt the fighting.