He brought up history after French President Emmanuel Macron labelled Russia a threat
The Crossing of the Berezina River by Napoleon’s Troops by January Suchodolski
Some people still “can’t get over” Napoleon’s defeat by Russia, President Vladimir Putin has said. He made his comments after French President Emmanuel Macron labelled Moscow a threat in a belligerent speech.
In a televised address on Wednesday, Macron called Russia a “threat to France and Europe” and said that he was considering expanding Paris’s nuclear umbrella to protect other EU member states.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Macron’s speech “highly confrontational” and claimed that Paris was “apparently contemplating war.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov compared the French president to Napoleon, whose disastrous invasion of Russia eventually led to his downfall.
Putin also referenced the war with Napoleon during his meeting with the members of the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation in Moscow on Thursday. One of the attendees mentioned a church in Smolensk, a city in western Russia that was briefly occupied by Napoleon’s troops in 1812.
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“You’ve mentioned Smolensk, its museum, and the church that has existed since Napoleon’s invasion,” Putin said. “Some people still can’t get over it. There are still people who want to return to the times of Napoleon, but they are forgetting how it ended.”
After subduing most of continental Europe, Napoleon led his 600,000-strong Grande Armee (Great Army) into Russia, which was ruled by Emperor Alexander I at the time. Despite occupying Moscow after the bloody battle of Borodino, Napoleon was unable to make the Russians surrender and was forced to hastily retreat, losing the majority of his army in the process.
EU countries have been rushing to find alternatives to American military presence in Europe after US President Donald Trump reversed his predecessor’s policies of “isolating” Russia on the world stage and refused to blame Moscow for the Ukraine conflict. On Monday, he reportedly halted all weapons deliveries to Kiev.