LONDON

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that Russia must be “defeated" in Ukraine, but not “crushed.”

"I do not think, as some people do, that we must aim for a total defeat of Russia, attacking Russia on its own soil. Those observers want to, above all else, crush Russia. That has never been the position of France and it will never be our position," Macron said in an interview with French media outlets released late Saturday.

In the end, he said, the war in Ukraine will not be resolved militarily.

During his speech in the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Macron said that France is ready to sustain "a longer conflict" in Ukraine.