The French military, comprising about 1,500 troops, may be put on standby in April for deployment to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
“New information is emerging about Paris preparing a military contingent to be sent to Ukraine. To this end, the command of the French Foreign Legion in early March approved the composition of a battalion-tactical group of about 1,500 men. It is expected that in April the group will be brought to a state of full combat readiness for an operational rush to the Ukrainian theatre of military operations,” the diplomat said at a briefing.
Earlier, Russian permanent representative to the world body Vasily Nebenzya told a UN Security Council meeting that Western countries that are making crazy speeches about the Russia-NATO conflict should realise whether they are ready to fight on their own territory.
He emphasised that France and its president Emmanuel Macron, who is allowing troops to be sent to Ukraine, need to remember that this military will be a priority target for Russia’s army. Paris’s previous attempt to unite Europe on an anti-Russian basis failed, the diplomat recalled.