French President Emmanuel Macron thinks that Ukraine might be defeated on the battlefield in short order, the French edition of Politico revealed on March 20.

After members of Macron's party took part in a work dinner at the Elysee Palace the evening prior, Politico's Playbook section spoke with many of them. Even though the talks at the dinner focused on the upcoming European Parliament elections, the Ukraine-Russia conflict also made an appearance. 

One of the sources quoted Macron as saying "Ukraine could fall very quickly." After several French nationals fighting in Ukraine died, Macron sharpened his rhetoric on Ukraine. 

Macron labels Russia 'adversary', says Ukraine must restore 'Crimea'

There will be no "lasting peace" in Ukraine unless Kiev establishes control over all the territories it has lost, including Russia's Crimean Peninsula, the French President declared in an interview broadcasted by TF2 and France 2, on March 21.

Macron also described Russia as France's "adversary", while simultaneously stressing that France is merely "supporting" Ukraine and has not been "waging war on Russia."

"Certainly, today, Russia is an adversary. The Kremlin regime is an adversary," Macron explained before adding, "We are doing everything so that it can put Russia in check because, I will tell you very simply, there is no lasting peace if there is no sovereignty, a return to the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine, including Crimea."

The most recent comments from the French President were not well-received in Russia, where Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov remarked that Macron apparently "won’t mind increasing the degree of his involvement" in the war in Ukraine, "Yes, it’s obvious that Russia is an adversary of France because France is already involved in the war in Ukraine; it is indirectly taking part in this war."