Macron Warns Zelensky About U.S.

Context

A confidential European leaders’ call — reported by Germany’s Spiegel — reveals deepening distrust inside the Western alliance as Washington pushes ahead with its fast-tracked Ukraine peace plan. According to the transcript, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz both warned President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States may sacrifice Ukraine’s core interests in its rush to secure a deal with Moscow.

Macron’s language was unusually blunt. He reportedly told Zelensky there was a real possibility the U.S. might “betray Ukraine on territory” without providing concrete, enforceable security guarantees. The concern is simple: Washington is driving the negotiations, but Zelensky may be pressured to accept a deal that trades land for a ceasefire with only vague assurances that Russia will not return.

Merz reinforced the warning, cautioning Zelensky that U.S. envoys are “playing games” and urging him to be “very careful” in the coming days. His point reflects a broader worry in Europe, that the Trump administration’s peace track is being shaped behind closed doors by advisers like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with Europe largely sidelined.

The call took place on Monday, just 24 hours before Witkoff and Kushner sat down with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, a five-hour meeting that produced no breakthrough. European officials have already been uneasy about the original 28-point U.S. plan, which was leaked in November and widely seen as skewed toward Russia’s maximalist demands. Although the document has since been revised in Geneva, the level of U.S.–Russia backchanneling has alarmed European capitals.

What’s funny is that if Kirill Dmitriev did leak the original document, this kind of infighting is exactly what he would have been hoping for. President Trump already has a strained relationship with parts of the EU camp, and with figures like JD Vance and Witkoff doing little to smooth diplomatic waters, tension was inevitable. Once the gears started turning and Ukraine sat down with the U.S. delegation, European leaders were always going to scramble. And to their defence, several elements of the 28-point plan required EU involvement — involvement they were never informed about. From their perspective, Washington appeared to be negotiating commitments on Europe’s behalf without consultation. If Dmitriev’s intention was to sow distrust between the U.S., Europe, and Ukraine, the fallout from the leak ( mixed messaging, political panic, and competing narratives ) is almost exactly the scenario Moscow would have wanted.

We then have to consider this Spiegel leak, like I have said multiple times, this is an information war. Leaks are weapons, someone has leaked this information for a reason. Leaking the Merz–Macron call would serve one core purpose: to fracture the Western negotiating front at a critical moment. By exposing two of Europe’s most influential leaders openly warning Zelensky that Washington might “betray” Ukraine, the leak fuels mistrust between Kyiv, Brussels and Washington. It paints the U.S. team as unreliable, undermines confidence in the Trump administration’s intentions, and pressures Ukraine to doubt American guarantees. At the same time, it sows friction inside the EU by revealing private doubts about U.S. motives. Whether leaked by a foreign intelligence service or an internal actor, the strategic effect is the same: division weakens the West’s leverage in any peace settlement. Sources: News/Journal sources available upon request, not shown to maintain visual integrity of page.