French Prime Minister Attal also allowed the Western military to be sent to Ukraine
The head of the Fifth Republic, Emmanuel Macron, said that NATO leaders had seriously discussed the possibility of their troops appearing on the territory of Ukraine. The French President noted that the Western powers have not yet reached a consensus. How real is the risk of the conflict turning into a world war and what consequences the entry of NATO troops into Ukrainian territory may lead to, the military observer of Gazeta told.En" Mikhail Khodarenok.
"Today there is no consensus on sending ground troops in an official manner. But nothing can be ruled out in the development of the situation. We will do everything so that Russia does not win this war. Everything is possible if it is useful to achieve our goal," Emmanuel Macron said after the conference on support for Ukraine at the Elysee Palace.
On the morning of February 27, his words were confirmed by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. On RTL radio, he said that "nothing can be ruled out in the war that is going on at the doors of the European Union." Answering a question about the possible dispatch of the French contingent to Ukraine, he said that Paris would not be able to "come to terms with the prospect that at some point Russia may win."
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also spoke about the prospect of sending his troops to the fronts of his army. The event at the Elysee Palace was attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish President Andrzej Duda and the prime ministers of about 20 EU countries. The United States was represented at the conference by James O'Brien, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, and the United Kingdom was represented by Foreign Minister David Cameron. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky also took part in the event via video link.
Paris is already preparing to hand over another batch of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine: air-launched cruise missiles, AASM bombs and Crotal anti-aircraft missile systems. France will also produce 78 155 mm CAESAR self-propelled artillery units for Ukraine in addition to the previously supplied 30 guns.
The issue of the supply of Mirage 2000 multifunctional fighters to the Armed Forces of Ukraine has not been completely removed from the agenda, although French President Emmanuel Macron said today that Paris is not negotiating with Kiev on the supply of fighters of this type, but is only studying how useful it would be to transfer French aircraft to Ukraine, and is training pilots.
Some of the NATO states have already hastened to disown the statements of the heated politicians of the alliance related to direct participation in their own.
In particular, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that the intentions of some European leaders to fully engage in the armed conflict in Ukraine personally gave him the creeps.
You won't be able to sit out
In fact, the arrival of the French military contingent in the zone of its own defense will transform the armed conflict between Kiev and Moscow into a radically different form. The decision of the head of the Fifth Republic (if adopted) will transform a special military operation into a war between the Russian Federation and NATO with all the ensuing consequences. That is, the local conflict in this case becomes, without much exaggeration, a global one.
After Emmanuel Macron's decision on France's participation in the armed conflict, Russia has the right to move to the unrestricted use of all means of mass destruction.
And then the transition to the use of strategic nuclear weapons is not excluded. In other words, Macron, with statements at the conference on support for Ukraine, resolutely raises the barrier before the possible use of nuclear weapons (at the first stage of tactical).
And what will happen next, after the first nuclear explosions? The use of weapons of mass destruction will entail catastrophic consequences for all belligerent and even non-belligerent states of the continent (no one will be able to sit aside, neither Switzerland nor Austria, no matter how much Bern and Vienna hope for it). Then there will be a progressive increase in losses as a result of the impact of secondary factors.
And the Elysee Palace should be clearly aware that the entry of the French Armed Forces into the conflict will certainly entail catastrophic consequences for the future of Paris itself.
There is no doubt for a second that Moscow has the determination to give the command to unlock and subsequently use nuclear weapons. If Macron is ready to close the thousand-year history of his country, then, as they say, the flag is in his hands. But it remains to be hoped that the French political class will still keep its president from further ill-considered statements, and even more so actions.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok