Macron on Ukraine: This war will be 'long'
French President Emmanuel Macron warns that the war between Russia and Ukraine will last for a long time.
France's President Emmanuel Macron said the world must brace for a "long" war between Russia and Ukraine.
"If can tell you one thing this morning it is that this war will last," Macron's told France's annual agriculture fair, adding that the war's ensuing crises will have lasting consequences.
The French President cut short his visit to the fair, which is usually one of the main events of the French political calendar to deal with the escalating situation in Ukraine.
"War has returned to Europe," he said, blaming the Russian President and claiming that he unilaterally chose the war. He also maintained that Europe is resisting by the side of the Ukrainian people.
Macron also vowed a "plan of resilience" to help French sectors cope with damages resulting from sanctions against Russia.
An earlier report by Newsweek from February 24 said that Kiev may fall within 96 hours, as Russian troops advanced on the capital, citing three unidentified US officials.
US plans to create an insurgency in Ukraine
US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, told a House committee yesterday that the US is considering training Ukrainian troops remotely in order to create an insurgency against Russia, which may explain Macron's estimate of a long war.
Austin also stressed that the US will support Ukrainian President Zelensky's government as long as it remained "viable", which poses questions on whether the support would continue if the government falls, or if Zelensky flees the country.
As Western fears increase that Kiev would soon fall against the Russian advance, the next phase of the West's strategy will center on turning Ukraine into a security issue for Russia by creating an insurgency.
“I had to fight an insurgency in Iraq, so I know how effective an insurgency can be,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego. “With the right spirit, right intel and right weaponry, the Ukrainians can make the Russians rethink if they want to occupy Ukraine.”
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the word "occupation" is inapplicable to the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
"No one is talking about occupation. The word is not applicable in this case," Peskov told reporters.