France may allow special forces to cross the Ukrainian border to present Russia with a strategic dilemma.
This was reported by the French publication Le Monde, citing sources.
What is France planning?
According to Le Monde, until now the French authorities have denied the presence of their military in Ukraine, tacitly acknowledging only the presence of agents of the Directorate of External Security (DGSE).
However, neither their numbers nor their missions were the subject of public communications.
Even the possible death of some of them remains in the realm of plausible deniability, – said in the publication.
The publication quotes a comment from ex-DGSE employee Vincent Crouse, who believes that the activities of intelligence services are not subject to the laws of war.
It is noted that numerous delegations of representatives of Western intelligence services regularly come to Ukraine: undercover diplomatic personnel, “advisers” embedded in Ukrainian headquarters, special forces of all types.
As for the special forces subordinate to the General Headquarters of the French Armed Forces, its fighters, according to Le Monde sources, never crossed the Ukrainian border, limiting themselves to training Ukrainian military personnel in neighboring countries, in particular in Poland.
However, according to the publication, French President Emmanuel Macron admits the possibility of French special forces entering Ukraine: not large formations, but small groups of instructors.
This is seen as a means of presenting Russia with a strategic dilemma, – the article says.
Paris believes that the presence of military personnel from France or other countries would make some areas of Ukraine safer.
Macron’s resonant statement
On Monday, a conference on Ukraine, convened on Macron’s initiative, took place in Paris.
Following the event, the French president said that the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine was discussed, but no consensus was reached, and that France would do everything to prevent Russia from winning.
The next day, representatives of many European countries said that there was no talk of sending troops to Ukraine.
The US State Department made a similar statement, referring to the country’s President Joseph Biden.
At the same time, the official representative of the American foreign policy department, Matthew Miller, noted that each country decides for itself whether to send troops to Ukraine, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the defeat of Ukraine threatens a military clash between the North Atlantic Alliance and Russia.
Yesterday, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejournet said that the country would not send troops to Ukraine.
Earlier, Russia launched the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile.
