In Moscow, authorities have mocked French president Macron's March 5 statements and are concerned about the EU’s defense plans. In Vienna, on the sidelines of the meeting that brought together media and anti-Kremlin organizations on March 8 and 9, in the presence of journalists, politicians and NGO representatives, the tone was very different. "What Macron is saying is good news!" said Ilia Yashin, a leading figure in the opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others. Sentenced on December 9, 2022, to eight and a half years in prison for criticizing the "special military operation" in Ukraine, he was released, in August 2024, as part of a prisoner exchange.

Since then, he has been touring European capitals to rally leaders and public opinion. "'The Russian threat is not only aimed at Ukraine, but at the whole of Europe. Putin will not stop there,' I told Mr. Macron this during our meeting at the Elysée [on October 22, 2024]. I hope that his speech will make the European elites aware once again of their responsibility for the security of the continent and the free world."

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