The Ukrainian government praised France’s “determination” to send military advisers to the country and said it hoped France’s move would encourage other Western countries to send troops as well.
Months of drama surrounding French President Emmanuel Macron’s seemingly stubborn desire to send French troops directly into Ukraine appears to be moving closer to action after Ukraine revealed it had legally allowed foreign troops to arrive.
Ukraine’s new commander, General Oleksandr Shirsky, and his country’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced on Sunday that they had met with their French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu, welcoming the French troops and requesting that France donate more equipment and ammunition.
Shirsky said he welcomed “the French initiative to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian soldiers,” adding that “documents have already been signed authorizing the arrival of the first French instructors.” The first group of French troops will inspect and familiarize themselves with Ukrainian training facilities.
Importantly, the Ukrainian president said he hopes that by breaking the Western taboo about “ground troops” in Ukraine, France will encourage other donors to get more directly involved. “I believe that France’s determination will encourage other partners to join this ambitious project,” he said.
Macron revisits military deployment in Ukraine: ‘We can’t afford restrictions’https://t.co/ATSpgTGqV9
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 9, 2024
The timing is unclear, but especially after the statement, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense seemed to offer a slight clarification, saying, “Ukraine has expressed an interest in the possibility of receiving foreign instructors from February 2024. At the moment, we are still in discussions with France and other countries on this issue.”
Indeed, during the conversation, Defense Minister Umerov said he had asked France to send instructors as soon as possible, suggesting that no specific timeline had been set.
Regarding other issues, particularly the request for France to send more weapons, Umerov said: “Strengthening our combat forces is essential to repel current attacks and deter potential ones.”
“We discussed the need for armored vehicles, artillery, air defense and ammunition. I stressed the importance of rapid delivery of weapons.”
The French Defense Ministry responded to the statement by confirming that the project was underway but did not say it would be implemented immediately. report They reportedly said: “As we have already stated many times, training on the territory of Ukraine is one of the projects that has been under discussion since the meeting on supporting Ukraine convened by the President of the Republic on February 26.
“Like all projects discussed at that time, the line remains the subject of cooperation with the Ukrainians, and we are working in particular to understand their exact needs.”
Macron proposes arming EU with nuclear weapons for ‘credible’ defencehttps://t.co/0XT5NvIJuW
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 28, 2024
The watchword for Western military aid has been aid without escalation, and in the early days of the second invasion some countries limited their donations to everyday items like food packs and helmets, but no weapons. This stance has gradually weakened, and governments are now persuading themselves to provide Ukraine with state-of-the-art missiles, main battle tanks, and now even fighter jets, items that were once considered “red lines.”
Perhaps the final line would be to send in troops. The revelation that French troops might actually be openly deployed to Ukraine, even in an advisory role, is the latest development in a months-long saga that began after Macron tore up a de facto agreement with Ukraine in February. Omerta Condemnation of Western ground forces in the conflict.
As reported in February, Macron said sending troops to Ukraine “cannot be ruled out” and that “we must do everything we can to achieve that objective.” The revelation came after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed that NATO leaders had already discussed such plans privately and that he had seen “exclusive” NATO documents that he described as “chilling.”
Mr Fitcho was later subjected to an assassination attempt by a gunman who claimed he was motivated by his support for military aid to Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron faced fierce criticism from NATO leaders for publicly expressing his views on sending troops to Ukraine, but has since reiterated his position dozens of times despite the uproar. Earlier this month, Macron said he was “not ruling out anything” and expressed the view that “if Russia wins in Ukraine, Europe will not be safe.”
—Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 6, 2024
