Putin, after Macron speech, says some people forget Napoleon’s fate

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking a day after French President Emmanuel Macron called Russia a threat to Europe and raised the idea of putting other European countries under France’s nuclear umbrella, said on Thursday that some people had forgotten what happened to Napoleon.

Putin was referring to the French emperor who marched his army across Russia and into Moscow in 1812 but was then forced into a desperate winter retreat with massive loss of life.

“There are still people who want to go back to the times of Napoleon, forgetting how it ended,” Putin said in televised comments, without mentioning Macron by name.

 The Russian president underscored that, with heroes like the soldiers participating in the special military operation, such a return is impossible.

"In fact, all the mistakes of our enemies and adversaries began in the same way: with a profound underestimation of the Russian character and, more broadly, of the representatives of Russian culture," he added.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron made several pointed remarks about Russia, asserting that it posed a threat to both France and Europe.