# French far-left presidential candidate Melenchon blames Ukraine's deep strikes for war escalation

https://mins.news/en/item/70997

- The Kyiv Independent, 2026-09-23 16:31 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://kyivindependent.com/french-far-left-presidential-candidate-melenchon-blames-ukraines-deep-strikes-for-war-escalation/

> French far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon reaffirmed his opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while suggesting Kyiv bears blame for the war’s escalation through deep drone strikes, apparently referring to attacks on Moscow. He called for Russia’s withdrawal and diplomacy, but did not mention Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities.

## Related coverage

- [Russia strikes Ukraine as Putin denies plans to attack Europe amid rising tensions](https://mins.news/en/video/75189) — euronews, 2026-09-26
- [Putin says Russia will not attack Europe and blames Ukraine for peace-talk breakdown](https://mins.news/en/item/74634) — Meduza, 2026-09-25
- [Macron admits Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries worsen Europe’s fuel crisis](https://mins.news/en/item/73031) — TASS, 2026-09-24