The Place du Capitole is illuminated in the colours of the Ukrainian flag to mark the second anniversary of Russia's invasion, in Toulouse, France, on Feb. 24.ED JONES/Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday the consensus among European countries was that they should be prepared for possible attack by Russia in coming years and that more efforts were needed to help Ukraine financially and militarily.
Some 20 European leaders gathered in Paris on Monday to send Russian President Vladimir Putin a message of European resolve on Ukraine and counter the Kremlin’s narrative that Russia is bound to win a war now in its third year.
“I have noted that more or less all the countries represented around this table have said … that the common consensus was that we should be ready in a few years’ time, for Russia to attack these countries,” Macron said in opening remarks.
“We all agree we don’t want to go to war with the Russian people, but we’re determined to keep escalation under control,” he said, adding that the meeting was meant to see how to “do more in terms of military support and budget support”.
Macron has invited his European counterparts to the Elysee palace for a hastily arranged meeting to discuss how to ramp up ammunition supplies to Ukraine amid what his advisers say is an escalation in Russian aggression over the past few weeks.
“We want to send Putin a very clear message, that he won’t win in Ukraine,” a presidential adviser told reporters ahead of the meeting. “Our goal is to crush this idea he wants us to believe that he would be somehow winning.”
After initial successes in pushing back the Russian army, Ukraine has suffered setbacks on eastern battlefields, with its generals complaining of shortages of arms and soldiers.
Addressing the leaders via videolink, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky backed Macron’s warning about an escalation of the conflict: “We must ensure that Putin cannot destroy our achievements and cannot expand his aggression to other nations.”
One area where there could be progress is on a Czech-led initiative to buy hundreds of thousands of ammunition rounds from third countries, something that France has been cautious about as it wants to prioritize the development of Europe’s own industry.
“The goal is to collect enough money for ammunition that Ukraine needs,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said before travelling to France.
Ammunition supplies have become a critical issue for Kyiv. The European Union, though, is falling short of its target of sending Ukraine a million rounds of artillery shells by March.
“We must be able to deliver more shells. The principle is that shells will be purchased where they are available,” said the French adviser. “There is no dogmatic (French) position.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British foreign minister David Cameron, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, as well as leaders from Scandinavian and Baltic nations, were among those attending.
The United States, which has been under much scrutiny as its latest military aid package for Ukraine has stalled in Congress, will be represented by Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jim O’Brien.
French officials said Macron, who is due in Kyiv in March, was keen to seek solutions after a security conference in Munich this month, which coincided with the death of Putin’s leading domestic opponent Alexey Navalny, failed to make progress.
“We’re neither doomy nor gloomy,” the French adviser said. “We want Russia to understand that. Russia will have to count on us all collectively to end this war.”
French officials said Russia has shown renewed aggression in recent weeks, including as Putin’s flight on a nuclear-capable bomber, in what they view as an attempt to intimidate Europeans at a time U.S. support is thrown into doubt by the presidential election.
Without offering details, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has opposed military aid to Ukraine, said ahead of travelling to Paris that several NATO and EU members were considering sending soldiers to Ukraine on a bilateral basis.