France is poised to announce the deployment of military instructors to Ukraine during an upcoming visit to Paris by Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Reuters. This move comes despite concerns from some allies and criticism from Russia.
Zelensky, whose legal presidency ended on May 20, recently visited Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. He will return this week to attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, a significant World War II operation against Nazi Germany.
Unnamed diplomats told Reuters that Paris aims to lead a coalition of countries providing training assistance to Kyiv. France reportedly plans to initially send a small team to evaluate the mission's logistics before dispatching several hundred trainers. (Related: Russia claims France is readying deployment of 2,000 troops to Ukraine.)
The training will focus on demining and the maintenance of equipment and aircraft provided by Ukraine's allies. Additionally, Paris is expected to announce the financing, arming and training of a new Ukrainian motorized brigade.
"The arrangements are very advanced, and we could expect something next week," a source told Reuters.
Armed Forces of Ukraine Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that he had approved the visit of the advanced team of French personnel to Ukrainian training centers soon to familiarize themselves with the country's staff and military infrastructure.
Macron has maintained a policy of "strategic ambiguity," suggesting that the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should send troops to Ukraine to keep Moscow uncertain about the United States-led bloc's intentions.
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However, this stance has sparked fears among some NATO allies about escalating the conflict with Russia.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has asserted that Berlin will avoid actions that could lead to direct conflict with Russia, and German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius has opposed training Ukrainian soldiers within Germany. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto has criticized the idea of sending foreign troops to Ukraine as "crazy," and the U.S. has also publicly opposed sending even just military instructors.
Western troops have been in Ukraine for years, claims Kremlin
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has asserted that Western military instructors have been present in Ukraine for a long time, acting not just as trainers but as "mercenaries" to service high-precision, NATO-supplied weapons. He further asserted that many of these Western troops have suffered losses. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously accused the French leadership of "belligerent rhetoric" and provocative statements that could escalate the conflict.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has also confirmed France's preparations to send troops to Ukraine, with ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova mentioning it during a press briefing.
"Confirmation is coming in on reports that France is preparing to send its troops to Ukraine. I would like to point out that we announced such reports on April 3. Even though Paris is trying to conceal the involvement of its professional soldiers in the conflict, the Kiev regime is deliberately promoting such developments in order to once again claim broad international support and beef up its failed mobilization campaign," Zakharova noted.
Zakharova referred to documents signed by Syrskyi that allegedly grant instructors the right in French law to visit Ukrainian army training centers.
"Now, the Elysee Palace should comment on this information instead of hiding behind vague wordings," Zakharova said. "Technically, the so-called instructors are required for directing long-range SCALP [air-launched cruise missiles], which are difficult to use, to targets."
Zakharova also highlighted that other states such as Poland and Estonia have made statements about the possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine. "This makes it clear that their initial plan regarding Ukraine has completely failed. They are now scrambling for ways to carry on with the campaign."
Learn the latest news coming out of the conflict in Ukraine at UkraineWitness.com.
Watch this clip from TruNews discussing Macron's assertion that the West should help Ukraine "neutralize" Russian military bases.
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