Oleksiy Danilov is secretary of Ukraine’s national security council. Danilov is second only to President Zelensky in seniority on the council. Unlike his boss, though, Danilov is not very diplomatic and he does not mince words about Putin’s war in Ukraine. He is especially critical of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Danilov accuses Macron of launching secretive plans to bring China into peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Macron has made some diplomatic gaffes as he tries to secure peace between Ukraine and Russia. Macron has angered Kyiv more than once with his gaffes.

Don’t misunderstand – France’s military support for Ukraine is appreciated. Zelensky hasn’t spoken up much but Danilov takes it upon himself to do so. He said that Macron wouldn’t negotiate away Bordeaux in order to bring peace to France. “If Macron thinks that he can hold some negotiations behind the backs of Ukrainian people, he is deeply wrong.”

Macron wants to begin negotiations this summer. He tasked his foreign policy adviser Emmanuel Bonne to work with Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, to establish plans for future negotiations. Macron has not confirmed any details of a projected summer time frame. Some consideration has to be made for the level of success Ukraine’s spring offensive has against Russia. Ukraine’s allies are skeptical that China can play a role in bringing peace because of its friendship with Putin.

Recently, Macron went to China and found himself in hot water over his comments about Taiwan. The EU chief weighed in.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen urged the bloc’s leaders to show unity in the face of China today – a week on from Macron’s comments.

‘A strong European China policy relies on strong coordination between member states and EU institutions and on the willingness to avoid divide and conquer tactics,’ von der Leyen, who accompanied Macron to Beijing, told MEPs.

‘We have already in the recent days and weeks seen those tactics in action and it is now time for Europe to move to action too. Now is the time to demonstrate our collective will,’ she said, in an address to the European Parliament.

Macron was yammering about his thoughts on European countries blindly following the lead of the United States. He essentially said that the United States isn’t the boss of him and shouldn’t be of other European countries either. Bizarre bloviating from America’s oldest ally, if you ask me.

There is no confirmation that Macron’s strategy has support in Ukranine. Zelensky recently spent 90 minutes on the phone to Macron. Macron’s recent trip to China was discussed. Macron fancies himself a peacemaker. He is not very popular and he realizes it. He thinks he is pushing his own agenda.

Danilov also criticized the United States. Now that Joe Biden has begun his campaign for reelection, many people think that he will curtail support for Ukraine. “I’d like to note that Ukraine does not interfere in the political life of other countries.” Does he not think that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was a political move? He did confirm that Ukraine had received long-range weapons.

After months of requests, Mr Danilov confirmed Ukraine had finally received long-range weapons that can hit targets deeper behind enemy lines than the Himars rocket launcher, which has a 50-mile range.

The adviser said the deals were shrouded in secrecy and only targets inside Russia’s borders, as recognised by Ukraine, were off-limits.

Crimea is very much a military target Ukraine is considering strikes against, even if the US has warned against it.

How is it helpful for Dailov to slam the United States for “interfering” in Ukraine when Zelensky is only too happy to have the United States as Ukraine’s biggest financial and military equipment contributor in Putin’s war?

During Macron’s state visit to China, Airbus announced plans for a second final assembly line in China. It’s the latest sign that Airbus has a lock on the key aviation market over rival Boeing.

The announcement came as part of a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to China. The signing of the agreement by Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury was witnessed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and by Macron.

It will add another line to the final-assembly facility that Airbus opened in Tianjin, China, in 2008, which has put the final touches on 600 A320 aircraft to date.

Macron is choosing to expand his country’s involvement with China while advising other European countries to not rely on the United States as heavily as some do. Interesting choice, Macron.

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