LONDON — As American soldiers landed in Poland, French President Emmanuel Macron drove up to the Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The night before, he’d walked through the snow in Moscow’s Red Square after a five-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin.
The Americans had been dispatched to Poland by a U.S. president determined to shore up Europe’s eastern flank and bolster a united front against Russia.
France’s Macron was on a peacekeeping mission, perhaps futile, but there he sat, at opposite ends of a long white table, trying to guess the Russian president’s intentions.
Will he, or won’t he, invade Ukraine?
There was no great breakthrough, and nobody expected one, but Macron had the air of a man with tantalizing intelligence. A nugget of hope.
"We talkexjmtzywd with President Putin and he told me he won’t be initiating an escalation. I think that’s important,” said Macron.
Important, but was it true that Russia was backing off, de-escalating after months of building up 130,000 troops to more-or-less surround Ukraine?
At about the same time Macron was speaking, the Russian defence ministry announced that six large landing craft from the Russian navy had been dispatched to the Black Sea.
To the Americans and Europeans that could only mean one thing, the possibility of a significant amphibious assault on the coastline of Ukraine.
The spectre of a full-scale Russian invasion seemed to be reaching its final stage.
From the Kremlin came denial. There is no deal to de-escalate, to back off, said a spokesperson, which left Macron dangling in confusion, and possibly ridiculed, if he fell for a bit of Putin deception.
“This is wrong in its essence,” said the voice of the Kremlin. “Moscow and Paris couldn’t do any deals. It’s simply impossible.”
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, knows the caginess of his near namesake in Moscow. He is understandably wary and deeply distrustful, with the eastern border of his country under siege for years at the hands of pro-Russian militants.
"Ukraine is very patient, because it’s very wise,” he said. “I think it’s very important not only for Ukraine but also for all of Europe and for Russians.”
Wisdom can be fleeting when you’re facing an invading army and your country is threatened with overthrow and occupation. And you can’t be sure your presumed allies will come to your defence.
"I don’t trust words in general,” said Zelensky, standing side by side with Macron. A politician’s sincerity is measured by actions, he said. “In our case, real sincerity is de-escalation.”
While all of that was going on, the foreign minister of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, put on a helmet and body armour and went for a tour of Ukraine’s eastern frontline.
She saw houses destroyed by shelling, doors smattered with bullet holes; children’s toys left behind as families fled the constant bombardment. It’s now where Ukrainian soldiers wait in trenches for the advance of an overpowering Russian army.
"I am here,” she said, “to get an impression of what it means that we still have war in the middle of Europe.”
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French President Emmanuel Macron leaves after a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022 in Moscow. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, Pool)
