Ukraine rejects Mélenchon's remarks on Donbas

Ukraine on Monday, 9 November, rejected remarks on Donbas by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the French far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI) and a presidential candidate. Kyiv stressed that Ukrainian citizens have already decided the fate of the region. Donbas is an eastern Ukrainian region at the centre of the war with Russia.

What Mélenchon said

Speaking on Saturday, Mélenchon argued that the conflict in Ukraine cannot be resolved by granting territorial concessions without consulting the people living in the territories concerned. "Only the people themselves must decide what they want," he said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot sharply criticised the statement, saying Mélenchon "has become a mouthpiece of the Kremlin".

Kyiv's response

Heorhiy Tykhyi, press secretary of Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, said Ukrainians have already settled the question of their country's borders. In a post on the platform X, he recalled that in the 1991 national referendum more than 90% of voters backed Ukrainian independence within its current, internationally recognised borders. According to him, a majority voted in favour in every region, including Donbas, where support stood at 83%.

Tykhyi said it was Russia that chose to ignore Ukrainians' choice and change borders by force by launching a war of aggression. He added that "referendums" held under occupation are an instrument of annexation, not an expression of the people's will. In his view, no civilised, democratic country would accept such treatment of its own borders, so it should not be proposed for Ukrainians either.