War in Ukraine: For Sejournet it is “false” to say Russia has the upper hand

Don’t be fooled. French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejournet called on Wednesday not to trust Russia, which claims to have prevailed over Ukraine.

“Russia is trying to convince us that its victory is inevitable. In particular, she is trying to convince us that Ukraine has already lost. This is wrong for several reasons,” Stéphane Sejournet said at a hearing in the National Assembly. He recalled that the Ukrainian army “has already managed to regain (…) almost half of the Ukrainian territory conquered by Russia.”

“Contrary to popular belief, Ukraine has achieved a number of notable successes, particularly in Crimea and the Black Sea, securing a maritime corridor that is critical for exports and the global food balance,” he said. In the end, he calculated that since the beginning of winter it was “the Russian army that has been exhausting itself in costly offensive operations, in men and equipment, but with very limited benefits.”

“Our support must be at its best”

Sanctions against Russia are “effective,” he also considered. “We must not give in to the narrative that sanctions are ineffective,” he said, adding that data on the effectiveness of these sanctions will “likely” be released soon. However, he acknowledged that they could be “improved” and that the “misuse” of these sanctions must continue to be combated.

Finally, he insisted that France was ready to support Ukraine “in the long term.” “In Kyiv, where I arrived a few hours after my appointment, the resilience of the Ukrainian people remains,” he said. “Our support must be fit for purpose: it must be frank, long-lasting and unwavering. This is how we will influence Russian strategy,” he also said.

At the same time, he noted that Russia is not only waging war against Ukraine, “but is also attacking us.” “She used energy weapons, she used food weapons, she also used disinformation weapons,” he lamented. On Tuesday, Stephane Séjournet published a video in which he addressed the French population denouncing “a hostile information maneuver emanating from Russian actors, based on 193 dormant sites that broadcast misleading or false content.”