FRENCH DIPLOMACY AND THE WAR IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Since the beginning of the Ukrainian file marked by the Orange Revolution (2004) The expulsion of the pro-Russian President Yanukovych followed by Russia's retaliation with the annexation of Crimea and the signing of the Minsk I and Minsk II Agreements, French diplomacy has sought to impose itself as a mediator state to find peaceful solutions to this conflict. When Russia started the war in February 2022 and there was a meeting between President Putin and President Macron in the Kremlin, at which the French president was somewhat humiliated, France began to openly support Ukraine and its President Zelensky.. French diplomacy's explanations regarding France's role in the Ukrainian crisis were as follows: After the illegal annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014, the Russian Federation made the deliberate and unjustifiable choice to launch a war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. From the first day of the conflict, France, along with its European Union partners, chose to resolutely stand alongside Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. By waging war against a sovereign country, Russia deliberately decided to violate the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Supporting the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine is not only a matter of helping a free people, but also of defending international law and the security of the European continent. This is why, since the first day of the war, France, together with its partners, has unambiguously supported Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.There is no doubt that French diplomacy has evolved significantly between 2014 and 2025. Élysée Matignon has become the strongest supporter of Ukraine after that of the US under Joe Biden. With the arrival of Donald Trump at the helm of the US and his bombastic promises to “calm down the war in Ukraine in 24 hours”, President Macron has shown discreet animosity towards Trump and even greater animosity towards Putin and his aggressive military strategy. France and Great Britain have become the strongest supporters of Ukraine, but also in the ambitions to build a military defense system for Europe. (Peillon, L. (2025) While American diplomacy talks about peace, French diplomacy is constantly burdened with the “revenge against Russia”. French diplomacy believes that Putin’s aggression requires European aggression, by sending European military forces to Ukraine.