(Dan Tri) – Russian news agency quoted a French reporter as saying that French soldiers have been deployed to join Ukrainian forces in the conflict in the Donbass region.
A Ukrainian soldier fights in Donetsk (Photo: Reuters).
Christelle Neant, a French military reporter living and working in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), believes that the French army has joined Ukrainian forces in conflicts in the Donbass region, Eastern Ukraine.
`I am almost certain that there are French soldiers on the battlefield in Ukraine, because untrained Ukrainian troops will not be able to operate Caesar self-propelled guns,` Ms. Neant told Tass news agency (Russia) in an interview.
She added that Ukraine’s armed forces are recruiting people with no military experience in the mobilization campaign and sending them to the front lines after `just two or three weeks of training`.
`Effectively, it is impossible to operate self-propelled guns after a three-week training course. This means that others with more experience are using them. Obviously, it must be knowledgeable people
In Ms. Neant’s view, France sent troops to Ukraine in small groups to minimize possible political risks for the current French leadership.
`At this point, sending a large group of troops would be a big risk for (French President Emmanuel) Macron. If they all die, he will have to bear the consequences,` the French reporter commented.
`That’s why I think he won’t send military forces numbering thousands of people. If they don’t, how will the French government explain to thousands of families about the loss of their loved ones?`
Previously, former US Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Bryen said `France has officially sent its first soldiers to Ukraine`.
The French soldiers are believed to have been drawn from the 3rd Infantry Regiment, one of the main components of the French Foreign Legion.
`These troops are being deployed directly in the hot battle zone, with the aim of helping Ukraine resist Russia’s advances in Donbass. The first 100 people are artillery and reconnaissance experts,` the former official said.
According to him, about 1,500 soldiers from the French Foreign Legion are expected to arrive in Ukraine in the near future.
In April, the Telegram channel `Military Chronicle`, based on information from private sources, said that the first units of the French Foreign Legion arrived in the city of Slavyansk to support the Ukrainian army in the face of the threat of invasion.
According to the above source, there are currently 100 French soldiers in the city.
Military correspondents said the first group of French soldiers to arrive in Slavyansk specialized in artillery reconnaissance and engineering work, including the construction of fortifications and field fortifications.
The above information coincides with previous statements by the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, when he announced that France was preparing to deploy troops on Ukrainian territory.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in early April that France would likely send about 1,500 combat-ready soldiers to Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron left open the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, but he emphasized that Paris currently has no such plans.
Vice Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on May 7 warned that the West sending troops to Ukrainian territory would cause them to directly participate in the war and Russia would have to respond, even leaving open a `catastrophic` scenario.