A prominent NATO ally has suggested its troops are ready to intervene in the Russia-Ukraine war to discourage Vladimir Putin from launching further attacks.
General Pierre Schill, France’s ground forces chief, wrote in an op-ed on Tuesday that his country is prepared to put boots on the ground in Ukraine.
Schill’s piece in Le Monde claimed French troops are “ready” for “the toughest engagements” and can be called upon to “deter any attack on France”.
He suggested France could mobilize 20,000 troops within 30 days to support Ukraine’s war effort. That number could reach as high 60,000 when taking into account other allied troops deployed alongside the French.
He wrote: “If you want peace, prepare for war. The sources of crisis are multiplying and carry with them risks of spiraling or extending.”
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French President Emmanuel Macron has recently been contemplating deploying French troops in Ukraine, though Putin has threatened decisive retaliation.
He proposed discussions between a number of NATO countries that could see allied forces entering Ukraine to support in training and advisory roles, rather than as combat troops.
Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland are interested in carrying out the mission, but other powerful nations such as the US and Germany have expressed strong opposition.
Russian officials have repeatedly responded to claims of NATO involvement in Ukraine, threatening retaliation and significant escalation in the two-year long conflict with Ukraine.
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the French president’s “idea of potentially sending such a contingent,” is “clearly perceived differently in different European capitals. We continue following this situation closely.”
Foreign Intelligence Service head Sergey Naryshkin added: “It will thus become a legitimate priority target for attacks by the Russian armed forces.
“This means that it will suffer the fate of all the French who have ever come to the Russian world with a sword.”
Despite talks from members of France’s government, there are not yet any plans for the country or other NATO members to put boots on the ground in Ukraine.
