On Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky regretted that French President Emmanuel Macron had not used the term “genocide” to describe the consequences of the Russian military operation.
“Macron’s refusal is very hurtful,” the Ukrainian President said, alleging that calling things by their name is necessary to oppose “evil.”
Several Western politicians, including U.S. President Joe Biden, used the term “genocide” to refer to crimes allegedly committed by the Russian army in Ukraine. Macron, however, said he preferred to remain cautious with the terms used to describe what happens in Ukraine.
“War is an incredible brutality, but I do not think an escalation of words helps counter it,” the French President said, stressing that the Ukrainian and Russian peoples are brothers.
“The word ‘genocide’ should be qualified by jurists, not by politicians,” he added during an interview with France Blue.
Macron will hold talks with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a cease-fire and investigate alleged war crimes committed by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian citizens.
“Our army has never indiscriminately killed any civilian,” the Kremlin spokesperson Dimitri Peskov argued, recalling that complaints related to this issue emerged from fake news and cynic stages created by Western media.
“Instead of blaming Russian soldiers without proper evidence, these outlets should stress that our military operation seeks to prevent Kyiv from perpetrating a massacre against the Russian-speaking populations of Donbas,” Peskov stated.