Russia criticized French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday for his speech this week about extending France’s nuclear umbrella to European allies.

In a speech to the French nation on Wednesday, Macron called Russia a “threat to France and Europe” and said the French were “legitimately concerned” about the US changing its position on the Ukraine conflict under US President Donald Trump.

“Every day, he makes some completely… contradictory statements” that are “detached from the truth,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said of Macron.

Zakharova compared him to Ole Lukoje, a mythical creature in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale who holds umbrellas over sleeping children.
“I heard all this, I looked at him, and I realized who he reminded me of – the nuclear Ole Lukoje,” she said.

Following a phone conversation with Friedrich Merz, who could be Germany’s next chancellor, Macron said he would launch a discussion on extending that security umbrella to include expanding France’s nuclear deterrent to other European countries.